Opinion and commentary on news, politics, culture, and policy impact.
Those 300 Hillary Clinton emails released by the State Department to the House Select Committee on Benghazi appear to confirm the view that Clinton’s top concern was protecting the State Department and her own reputation as Congress began its investigations in the aftermath of the attack. As reported by The New York Times, based on…
The Congressional Budget Office has finally released a score for the Boehner-Pelosi deal to replace the Sustainable Growth Rate (SGR) payment system in Medicare. Congress’s official number cruncher has confirmed what budget experts from around Washington have said for weeks – this deal would increase spending and the deficit over the next 10 years and…
Today we celebrate National Medal of Honor Day—a tribute to those “who distinguish themselves through conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of life above and beyond the call of duty.” As we pause to honor those who have earned this distinction serving the country, let us also reflect on the origins of the award….
Tomorrow The Heritage Foundation will proudly host the Chief Executive Officer of Afghanistan, Dr. Abdullah Abdullah, for a talk on “The Way Forward in the U.S.–Afghanistan Security Partnership.” Dr. Abdullah and Afghan President Ashraf Ghani are in Washington, DC, for an official visit, their first after forming a power-sharing government of national unity last fall….
The Boehner-Pelosi deal to replace Medicare’s physician payment system has been unveiled. As Congress awaits the Congressional Budget Office’s assessment of the budgetary impact of the package, some are suggesting that this deal is “the most significant structural entitlement reform in two decades.” In fact, from a policy perspective, the Medicare structural reforms are timid…
It’s a big week for the new GOP-controlled Congress. Unlike the past when Congress was divided, this year there is no one to blame if GOP lawmakers fail to pass a budget. This puts tremendous pressure to unite diverse lawmakers in the House and Senate behind one spending plan by the mid-April deadline. But first…
As the budget season heats up, congressional Republicans are focused on two key issues: how much defense spending should be and whether to use a budget maneuver to repeal Obamacare. Defense Disagreement By far the largest disagreement between the House and Senate regarding the fiscal year 2016 budget is the level and mechanism by which…
How high is the marginal tax rate on each additional dollar the average American earns? In other words, if you got a raise of one dollar, how much of that dollar would be taxed away? A middle-class taxpayer’s additional income (when a single person earns more than $37,450 a year) is subject to a 25…
Republican Texas Sen. Ted Cruz’s announcement Monday that he will run for president has Donald Trump, the ladies on “The View,” and others in the birther crowd questioning Cruz’s eligibility to be president. Born in Alberta, Canada in 1970, Cruz is the son of an American mother and Cuban father. Anticipating these questions, Cruz released his…
In recent months, heartbreaking stories of Americans such as Brittany Maynard struggling with devastating diagnoses have captured our empathy—and launched a national conversation about physician-assisted suicide. In response, activists are using these stories to advance legislation that has otherwise been rejected by the people. At least 18 states across the country are considering whether to…
Our military and their families carry a heavy burden on behalf of all of us. That makes the threat against them by a shadowy outfit claiming affiliation with ISIS particularly heinous. A group, calling itself the “Islamic State Hacking Division,” posted the names, home addresses and photos of one hundred American service members and called…
It’s exciting to talk about 2016. But Congress and the White House still need to be watched—closely.
Last week, the Department of Health and Human Services issued a two-page “fact sheet” that stated: Since several of the Affordable Care Act’s coverage provisions took effect, about 16.4 million uninsured people have gained health insurance coverage. That includes: 14.1 million adults who gained health insurance coverage since the beginning of open enrollment in October…
Saturday, the Foreign Ministers of East Asia’s largest economies met for the first trilateral meeting in three years. The ministers have met on the sidelines of regional meetings before, but the hope is that this first three-way meeting between Ministers Yun Byung-se, Fumio Kishida, and Wang Yi is a step toward stabilizing relations amongst the…
Great news for those interested in election integrity and common sense reforms like voter ID: The Supreme Court today removed the final legal obstacle to implementing Wisconsin’s voter ID law. The Court refused to hear the American Civil Liberties Union’s appeal of a Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals decision that threw out the injunction issued against…
Recent reports that several of the U.S. military’s various Special Operations elements may be participating in exercises in areas that are not on existing military facilities have raised concerns. These are fortunately unfounded. The military in general, and Special Operations in particular, have conducted exercises in civilian areas for decades. To be clear, even if…
Two hundred forty years ago today, Patrick Henry made his immortal cry, “Give me liberty or give me death!” The statement came at the end of a speech Henry made to the Virginia House of Burgesses. As Henry spoke, Great Britain was preparing to use force to reduce the American colonies to a state of…
A panel at The Heritage Foundation on March 11 discussed whether China’s economy is heading toward a “hard” or “soft” landing. Heritage’s Walter Lohman chaired this panel of experts, which included Dr. James Dorn of the Cato Institute, Pieter Bottelier of the School of Advanced International Studies at Johns Hopkins Univeristy, and Heritage’s Dr. William…
Henry Kissinger is often quoted lamenting what a pity it was that Lee Kuan Yew, founder of modern Singapore and long-serving leader, did not rule a larger country. Singapore may, indeed, have been a smaller stage than Lee deserved. But it was his first love, and he saw it grow beyond even his own wildest…
Kara Tippetts didn’t choose the day she would die. On Sunday, March 22, the mother of four passed away, after close to three years of battling breast cancer. “I feel like I’m a little girl at the party whose dad’s asking her to leave early, and I’m throwing a fit,” said Tippetts, crying a little,…