Medicare—on its current path—cannot be sustained. At a recent hearing held by the Senate Special Committee on Aging, Ranking Member Senator Bob Corker (R–TN) stressed the importance of Medicare reform. According to Corker, in 2011, “The U.S. spent $572 billion on Medicare, and spending is projected to increase to $1 trillion in 2021.” The relationship between the amount citizens pay in to Medicare and the benefits they receive presents another losing equation for taxpayers. If an average couple combined makes $87,000 a year, they will pay $119,000 (including their employers’ … More

Now that President Obama has signed the Budget Control Act into law following weeks of grueling debate, lawmakers are packing their bags and heading home for August recess. Both houses of Congress return the first week of September, but neither passed a formal adjournment resolution, denying Obama the opportunity to make recess appointments. Lawmakers wrapped up their work without finalizing an agreement on the Federal Aviation Administration funding bill. Thousands of civilian employees and construction workers have been out of work since the partial FAA shutdown last month. Heritage welcomes Roger … More

A battle is raging within the conservative movement on Capitol Hill whether to shoot at the flag stick or lay up (in golf terms). The battle is between the Balanced Budget Amendment (BBA) versus a statutory spending cap bill. Both factions have good points. The bold, shoot-at-the-flag-stick faction of the movement wants to push for…

While some members of Congress still attempt to unscramble all the details of the six-month spending deal struck by leadership last week, Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.) said he’s already steeling himself for the next big debate. “This whole CR skirmish — and that’s about all it is — is just setting us up for what…

Although the U.S. Senate gave its advice and consent to the ratification of New START, a strategic nuclear arms control treaty with the Russian Federation, the debate about the substance and ramifications of the treaty is far from resolved. Dr. Keith Payne, President of the National Institute for Public Policy, argues in his latest article that…

It now appears likely that the Russian Duma will attach an understanding to the new strategic nuclear arms control treaty with the U.S., known as New START, that specifically rejects the U.S. Senate’s understanding that Russia has no grounds for using New START to impose general limits on U.S. missile defense options. The Duma is…

Last week, on the vote to begin debate on the New START treaty, the White House got the nine Republican votes they will need to ratify it: Senators Bob Bennett (UT), Scott Brown (MA), Susan Collins (ME), Lindsey Graham (SC), Dick Lugar (IN), John McCain (AZ), Lisa Murkowski (AK), Olympia Snowe (ME), and George Voinovich…

There has been increasing opposition from Republican Senators to vote for New START, a nuclear strategic offensive arms control agreement with the Russian Federation, during the upcoming lame duck session of the Congress. Most recently, their ranks were joined by Senator Bob Corker (R-TN), whose chief of staff, Todd Womack, stated that “Senator Corker believes…

While President Barack Obama was telling Russian President Dmitry Medvedev that New START would be one of his top priorities in the upcoming lame duck Congress his aides were busy spreading bags of money around Friday trying to buy votes. According to anonymous sources of The Washington Post, Obama administration official visited Capitol Hill offices,…

The Obama Administration has stated on numerous occasions that there is “no way, no how” the New START treaty, a nuclear arms control agreement between the Russian Federation and the United States, will limit U.S. ballistic missile defense options. However, ongoing exchanges of opinions on this question show that the issue is far from clear.
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