The Washington Examiner recently reported that the two states bordering the nation’s capital are two of the five worst states for food stamp fraud. The above table shows the inverse relationship between the number of food stamp recipients and the percentage of cases investigated for fraud in Virginia, Maryland, and the District of Columbia. While the number of food stamp recipients has significantly increased (now up to a total of 45 million Americans) the percentage of cases investigated for fraud has not increased or even remained constant. The result is … More

The “super committee’s” failure to reach an agreement to reduce federal spending is supposed to trigger automatic spending cuts—some of which could decrease funding for the Department of Education beginning in 2013. This has the education unions and Secretary Arne Duncan up in arms. Randi Weingarten, president of the American Federation of Teachers, stated that this decrease in funding represents “drastic across-the-board cuts to vital programs” resulting in “massive reductions to education programs.” “Massive”? Let’s put this in perspective. The total cuts, if enacted—which some suggest is doubtful—would represent a … More

Media coverage of Occupy Wall Street has dominated the news lately, supplanting stories about the Tea Party movement and the grassroots uprising that took Washington by storm. For one of the movement’s early leaders, it has come as no surprise. Jenny Beth Martin is a co-founder and national coordinator for Tea Party Patriots. Today she continues to fight against big government, albeit while fending off comparisons to Occupy Wall Street. In an interview with Ginni Thomas at The Daily Caller, Martin talked about the early rise of Tea Party and … More

The Heritage Foundation is proud to congratulate the Heritage Congressional Fellows class of 2011. Their graduation was marked with a ceremony and address featuring Ronald Reagan biographer Steven Hayward on the future of conservative leadership. The Heritage Congressional Fellowship (HCF) is a year-long educational program for junior-level Capitol Hill staffers that focuses on the principles of conservatism, current issues, and skill improvement. With 34 staffers graduating this year (and 50 or so attending regular sessions each Friday), HCF provides quality instruction on America’s first principles and the most important issues … More

Greece continues to dominate the headlines as the country faces an increasingly dire economic situation and now political uncertainty as well. Prime Minister George Papandreou plans to resign once an interim government is formed, but there’s no telling if the political leadership will be able to avoid expulsion from the euro zone. Greece’s troubles might seem a world away from what the United States is experiencing, but a new report and video from the Joint Economic Committee suggest the two countries have troubling similarities. (Click to watch.) Here’s how Sen. … More

As Washington ties itself up in knots over what the Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction, better known as the Supercommittee, will recommend to Congress, thirty-three Senators are standing tall against continued overspending and overborrowing. In a letter of November 3, 2011, to the Members of the Supercommittee, Senators Jim DeMint, John Cornyn, Kelly Ayotte and thirty others said that the Supercommittee’s recommendations need to meet the following criteria: “balance our budget within ten years; “place entitlements on a path to fiscal solvency; “comprehensive tax reform that lowers rates and … More

Wisconsinites are headed to the polls to cast their votes in the Wisconsin recall elections. The recall campaigns — against six Republicans today and against two Democratic state senators next week — have gained national attention. They stem from the fierce standoff between the Legislature earlier in the year. The unprecedented circumstances in Wisconsin ensure low voter turnout and noncompetitive results won’t be a problem. Numerous politicians are calling for Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner’s resignation following the downgrade of the U.S. credit rating from AAA to AA+. Congresswoman and presidential … More

In this week’s Heritage Libertad Radio Show on WBER in Fairfax, Virginia, we packed in a solid hour of the latest news and information. The first half is in Spanish, covering topics from the debt ceiling to the Latino community, and includes an interview with Congresswoman Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R–FL). The second half is in English, covering topics from jobs to the debt ceiling fight, and includes an interview with Senator Jim DeMint (R-SC). Be sure to listen to the full show, here. Heritage Libertad will host its next show on … More

Desperate to sell the American people on a yet-to-be-determined plan to raise the debt ceiling, increase taxes, and avoid necessary reforms to rein in government, liberals are turning to an unlikely ally to make their case—former President Ronald Reagan. Their utterly transparent tactic reveals a larger truth: Despite all the rhetoric, liberals have failed to convince America that their way is the best way to move Washington forward. The offending invocation of Reagan’s legacy comes from the House Democrats in the form of a 54-second video featuring audio from a September 1987 … More

Sen. Jim DeMint (R-SC) is no stranger to fights with party leadership. And he’s not holding back in his criticism of the so-called “Plan B” that’s being developed by Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV). “It seems to be a cover-up,” DeMint said this afternoon in an exclusive interview with Heritage. “It’s like leaving the door to the federal vault open and looking the other way and saying we had nothing to do with the robbery.” He blamed President Obama for politicizing the … More