U.S. Intelligence Agency News
The Daily Signal provides coverage of intelligence operations, surveillance controversies, and the role of U.S. agencies in national security and civil liberties.
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- Opinion
To Avoid 19% Cut in Benefits, Lawmakers Must Overhaul Social Security Disability Program
The trust fund that helps pay for disability insurance under Social Security is on track to run out of money next year, a shortfall that would trigger a 19-percent cut in benefits. To avert these painful cuts, policymakers should overhaul the program by dropping the progressive benefit structure and replacing it with a flat benefit…Rachel Greszler -
- News
Senator Reveals Full Scope of Democrats’ ‘Manufactured’ Judicial Confirmation Crisis
Republican Sen. Chuck Grassley of Iowa is pushing back on Democratic charges that the GOP-led Senate has dropped the ball on judicial confirmations under President Barack Obama. Grassley took to the Senate floor Monday after his colleagues confirmed the 314th judicial nominee since the president took office, noting that by this time in 2007, under…Natalie Johnson -
- Opinion
How California’s New Assisted Suicide Law Could Especially Hurt the Poor
“My concern is for people who don’t have resources, who don’t have a choice.” “You read about Oregon denying someone a lung transplant, but, ‘Here, you can you have these pills.’” “That’s my fear about what this would become.” That’s what Assemblywoman Lorena Gonzalez, a Democrat who represents the San Diego area, told the Sacramento…Katrina Trinko -
- Opinion
3 Reasons Why Social Security’s Shortfall Could Actually Be $2.6 Trillion Greater Than Expected
The Social Security Advisory Board’s Technical Panel concluded that the Social Security Trustees’ “assumptions and methodologies are basically sound.” But these “basically sound” assumptions understate Social Security’s projected 75 year shortfall by $2.6 trillion compared to the technical panel’s recommended assumptions. According to the trustees, Social Security’s 75 year shortfall amounts to 2.68 percent of…Rachel Greszler -
- Opinion
Special Forces Are Great, but They Require a Strong Conventional Military to Operate
Reuters recently reported on a contingent of U.S. Special Operations Forces (SOF) personnel in southern Niger assisting the West African country in its battle against the terrorist organization Boko Haram, which is increasingly raiding into Niger. The contingent is a portion of the approximately 1,000 special operators currently deployed across the continent, part of President…Joshua Meservey -
- Opinion
6 Crucial Budget Facts Lawmakers Need to Remember
The end of the fiscal year is here, meaning that Congress is scrambling to resolve a host of important budget issues that lawmakers have ignored all year. Most importantly, they must fund the government for the 2016 fiscal year (which begins on October 1st), and come December, they must address the impending debt ceiling. These…Michael Sargent -
- Opinion
Argument for Giving Law Enforcement Special Access to Encrypted Systems Falls Short
In the continuing debate over whether law enforcement and intelligence officials should have some sort of special access to encrypted communications, officials are arguing that such access is important against “sloppy and stupid terrorists.” Objections have centered on the counterargument that allowing the government some form of special access to encrypted communications and systems would…David Inserra -
- Opinion
US Must Leverage Aid to Stop Child Sexual Abuse Among Afghan Security Officials
The New York Times Monday ran a shocking story about the U.S. military condoning child sexual abuse among Afghan security personnel. According to the report, U.S. military officers were told by their superiors to ignore acts of alleged child rape and molestation committed by Afghan police officials, sometimes on U.S. military bases. Adding insult to…Lisa Curtis -
- Opinion
Britain’s New Labour Leader Could Destroy the U.S.-U.K. ‘Special Relationship’
Jeremy Corbyn is hardly a household name in the United States, but his election win has raised eyebrows on this side of the Atlantic and has been prominently featured on the pages of The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post, and The New York Times. With good reason: there is growing nervousness in Washington in…Nile Gardiner -
- Opinion
US Spends Far More on Social Welfare Than Most European Nations
The U.S. Census Bureau has released its annual poverty report. Conventional wisdom holds that the U.S. has a small social welfare system and far more poverty compared with other affluent nations. But noted liberal scholars Irwin Garfinkel, Lee Rainwater, and Timothy Smeeding challenge such simplistic ideas in their book “Wealth and Welfare States: Is America…Robert Rector -
- Opinion
Is Socialism on the Rise?
Heritage Foundation expert Nile Gardiner, director of the Margaret Thatcher Center for Freedom, spoke to Fox News’ Neil Cavuto about the victory of far-left politician Jeremy Corbyn, who will lead the British Labour Party, and what it might mean on the global stage. “What you have seen, certainly, on both sides of the Atlantic is…Daily Signal Staff -
- News
New Study: Physician-Owned Hospitals Serve Poorer Patients At Average Rates
Physician-owned hospitals are often vilified in America’s health care system, accused of siphoning the most profitable operations away from other hospitals while leaving them with the sicker and poorer patients. Congress has banned new ones from opening. But an independent study released Wednesday argues physician-owned hospitals have gotten a bad rap. The study, published online…Jordan Rau -
- News
10 Public Officials Who Defied the Law Over Gay Marriage Mostly Silent on Kim Davis Case
A Kentucky clerk at the center of a national controversy was held in contempt of court and sent to jail for refusing to comply with a judge’s order to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples. But she isn’t the only public official who has defied the law over same-sex marriage. On Thursday, a federal judge…Melissa Quinn -
- News
Will Government Officials Be Held Accountable for Kate Steinle’s Death? Her Family Filed a Lawsuit.
In an attempt to hold government officials accountable for the shooting death of their 32-year-old daughter Kate, the Steinle family filed a lawsuit against three government agencies. The suit alleges that those agencies are in part responsible for Steinle’s death, but experts say the family has little chance at prevailing. "Unfortunately, prior lawsuits against cities…Kelsey Bolar -
- Opinion
It’s a Myth That Financial Markets Have Been Deregulated in Past Century
Why do I write so much about the myth that financial market deregulation caused the financial crisis? Because that false narrative has spread so far and wide. Even some folks who are otherwise friendly to free markets have bought into it. So here’s one more shot: financial markets were not deregulated in any meaningful way…Norbert Michel -
- Opinion
Report: Social Security Administration Paid Nearly $50 Million to Dead Representatives
The Social Security Administration hasn’t had a great summer. The Office of Inspector General (OIG) recently reported that the Social Security Administration (SSA) paid $46.8 million to deceased individuals who had, prior to their death, been acting as financial representatives for Social Security recipients. This report comes just a few weeks after the OIG identified…Amber Athey -
- News
Free Health Exams Offered to Special Olympics Athletes at Summer Games
Last week, 6,500 athletes from 165 nations traveled to Los Angeles to compete in the 2015 Special Olympic World Summer Games. “These Games change the lives of people around the world who are mistreated and excluded because they’re ‘different,’” Patrick McClenahan, President and Chief Executive Officer of the Games Organizing Committee, said in a statement….Leah Jessen -
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22 Moments From the 2015 Special Olympics
The first International Special Olympics was held in 1968 in Chicago, thanks to the work of Eunice Kennedy Shriver, in order to highlight the talents and abilities of those with intellectual or physical disabilities. Forty-seven years later, the Special Olympics boasts 6,500 athletes hailing from 165 countries to compete in numerous sports and events. This year, there…Samantha Reinis -
- News
Planned Parenthood Official Suggests ‘We Alter Our Process’ to Harvest Tissue
A fifth undercover video released this morning shows Planned Parenthood officials allegedly discussing the harvesting of organs from aborted babies, adding to growing allegations that the organization illegally profits off the sale of this tissue. The video, which is graphic, also raises questions as to whether Planned Parenthood doctors alter their abortion methods to harvest…Kelsey Bolar -
- Opinion
The Social Cost of Carbon: It’s Not What You Think
The social cost of carbon (SCC) is a metric that the Obama administration uses to justify increased regulations across the energy sector of the economy. It is derived using various statistical models that try to measure the extent and impact of climate change. Any statistical model, however, is based on assumptions and must be critically…Kirby Lawrence