Daily news coverage of politics, policy, and issues shaping the nation.
Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, plans to introduce a bill that would prohibit women from being registered for a possible draft requiring military service. Current law exempts women from registering with the Selective Service, but the issue was thrust back into national discourse following the Obama administration’s decision late last year to open all combat positions in the military…
The government granted up to $750 million in Obamacare tax credits to 500,000 persons who weren’t eligible, many of whom may have been illegal immigrants, a Senate report says. Half a million individuals mistakenly received the tax credits because of a lapse in verification of their legal status and a lack of coordination among government agencies, the report determined….
When Florida Gov. Rick Scott took over as the Sunshine State’s chief executive in 2011, the state’s economy was struggling—unemployment hovered around 11 percent, Florida’s tourism industry was suffering and the state had added $5.2 billion to its debt. Now, as Scott heads into his fifth year serving as governor, he’s touting the successes he’s…
A Michigan woman is fighting to keep transgender persons out of the women’s locker room at her local gym. Yvette Cormier lost the first round when a county judge dismissed her complaints over a “judgment-free policy” that allows transgender individuals to use the locker room of their choice at the Planet Fitness where she is a…
Bill Main knows a lot about history, but at one time he faced arrest if he shared what he knows in Washington, D.C. The owner of Segs In The City, Main started a tour guide business in nearby Annapolis, Md., in 2004. After having some initial success, he tried to expand his operation into the nation’s capital, where…
Senate Republicans are quickly running out of runway to get a filibuster overhaul package off the ground. The political will is directly proportional to the proximity of the general election: The closer November comes, the less likely reform becomes. One of the chief advocates for change, Sen. James Lankford, R-Okla., says he knows how tight…
Millionaires living in states that expanded Medicaid are benefiting from government-sponsored health insurance, and taxpayers are footing the bill for it. In states that expanded Medicaid, people with high net worths and low monthly incomes qualify for Medicaid because of loosened eligibility requirements implemented under Obamacare. And in rural states like Iowa, Americans whom many…
President Obama’s final budget proposal, which increases government spending by $4.15 trillion, got a chilly reception Tuesday in Congress. Many Republicans already are dismissing the spending plan outright. House Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Wis., snarkily tweeted a survey asking what the mountain pictured on the cover of Obama’s budget proposal symbolized. Options: debt, regulations, taxes, or all of…
The Daily Signal recaps the $4.1 trillion budget proposal President Barack Obama sent Congress on Tuesday for fiscal year 2017. Learn about some of the major details inside, including a $2.6 trillion tax hike with a component that would raise the price of gas by 22 cents per gallon. >>> Why Republicans Are Mocking Obama’s…
Budget chairmen in the House and Senate have chosen to dismiss President Obama’s new budget plan before seeing it, saying they would concentrate instead on reforming the process and reining in spending. House Budget Chairman Tom Price, R-Ga., and Senate Budget Chairman Mike Enzi, R-Wyo., last week announced that neither of their committees would call White House Budget…
Senate Democrats have delivered on their end of a bargain with Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, confirming Rebecca Ebinger to a lifetime appointment as a district judge in Iowa. Grassley, chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, brokered the deal in December: His committee would advance three of President Obama’s liberal nominees for federal judgeships in exchange…
At the end of a long political road, West Virginia may have arrived at the place conservatives think the Mountain State belongs. The Republican-controlled legislature has sent a right-to-work bill to the desk of Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin, a Democrat. The governor has promised to block the legislation. But Republicans say they’re already lining up…
Last week, the House of Representatives took the first major step toward ending Operation Choke Point, a government program that critics say has been used to target legal business owners. The Daily Signal began covering Operation Choke Point 18 months ago, when business owners voiced concern about their bank accounts being stymied or shut down….
The superintendent of a rural school district, taking zero chances should an active shooter trespass his grounds, has posted large signs to alert intruders that staff members could have a firearm on hand. “Attention: Please be aware that certain staff members at Okay Public Schools can be legally armed and may use whatever force is…
An 11th state looks ready to join a national movement to sideline the Electoral College and decide presidential elections by popular vote. A bipartisan bill moving through the Arizona legislature aims to reallocate the state’s 11 electoral votes to the presidential candidate who wins the majority of votes on a national scale rather than the candidate who wins the…
Though President Barack Obama’s time in office is drawing to a close, the Senate pipeline for judicial nominees remains open. On Monday, the Senate will consider Rebecca Ebinger for a lifetime judicial appointment as a district judge in Iowa. Sen. Chuck Grassley, chairman of the Judiciary Committee, has advocated for Ebinger and negotiated a deal for…
On the cusp of Super Bowl 50, one consumer index says the National Football League falls short in welcoming Americans who make their choices “through the lens of their biblical worldview.” The NFL scored only 24 out of 100 points on the Faith Equality Index prepared by Faith Driven Consumer, a Christian organization that provides resources for faith-conscious Americans. Chris…
A new issue governing requirements job-seekers must satisfy to work in fields ranging from interior design to cosmetology is gaining bipartisan support on Capitol Hill and at the White House. Policymakers have turned their focus to occupational licensing, and an unlikely alliance of leaders across the political spectrum has emerged with hopes of easing state…
Republican congressmen say the Obama administration misled the American people to believe that the debt limit has to be raised to accommodate more government spending because breaching it would result in a calamitous default. “Our nation’s creditworthiness should not be hindered by the administration’s lack of trustworthiness,” Rep. Sean Duffy, R-Wis., chairman of the House Financial Services…
The Denver Broncos and Carolina Panthers have more in common than just playing each other in Super Bowl 50 this weekend in Santa Clara, California: Both teams have quarterbacks who are men of faith. As football fans gather Sunday with family and friends (that may or may not only watch the commercials and Coldplay),…