President Obama skirts responsibility for his out-of-control government spending. “The deficit was on track to top $1 trillion the year I took office.” The deficit in 2008, the last year before President Obama took office, was $458.6 billion. The projected deficit for 2011 is $1.5 trillion. This year’s deficit is projected to be 323 percent higher than the nation’s deficit in the last year before President Obama took office. The President’s budget request for FY2012 would lead us to the highest ... Read more

The President’s Demand for a 2-Year Debt Limit Increase is Abnormal Historical data are clear: short-term debt limit increases have been the norm and financial markets don’t “panic” over them. So, why are President Obama and Senate Democrats insisting on a debt limit increase that spans nearly 2 years? Consider the facts: Over the last twenty-five years, Congress and the President have acted 31 times to increase the debt limit. 22 of those 31 were for less than a year. Only three of those 31 inc... Read more

This morning, the Subcommittee on Social Security examined the 2011 Annual Report of the Social Security Board of Trustees released in late May. During the hearing, the Subcommittee heard testimony from the two members of the Board who are public representatives, Charles Blahous and Robert Reischauer. Below are some of the key findings from the 2011 report. Social Security’s finances have worsened in the long-term compared to last year’s report. This year marks the largest single year increase i... Read more

Today, Ways and Means Democrats decided to dance to the Washington two-step. Only Washington Democrats could call recovering improper, excessive and possibly fraudulent taxpayer-funded subsidies in their health care law, a tax increase. A look back shows that in 2010, Democrats voted to require full repayment of subsidies for those making more than 400 percent of poverty ($93,800 in 2014) and later supported increasing the amount of excess subsidies that needed to be repaid. But today, those sam... Read more

The Economic Policy Institute (EPI), a union-funded organization, has estimated that the cuts contained in the CR would result in a loss of 994,000 jobs. This analysis is based on a highly simplified economic analysis that has repeatedly been demonstrated to be wildly inaccurate. EPI’s Jobs Analysis – Even the White House Thinks It Is Wrong EPI’s track record on forecasting the impact of policies on job creation is even rejected by the White House. For example, EPI estimates that the U.S.-Korea ... Read more

Democrats today made outrageous claims that the Social Security Administration’s (SSA) offices “would shut down” due to a proposed administrative budget reduction, a claim which is false and based on hypothetical scenarios. Despite the Democrats’ irresponsible scare tactics, the facts show that the Republicans' proposed one percent cut will not harm seniors’ benefits. Furthermore, any decisions to furlough workers – another highly misleading claim made by the Democrats – would result only if tha... Read more

Colombia has made dramatic and sustained strides in restoring the rule of law and improving safety and quality of life for all Colombians – and, in particular, union members: The murder of any Colombian is a tragedy to be avoided. Homicides against union members continue to decline dramatically – from 196 cases in 2002 to 33 in 2010, a decline of 83%. Colombia has made similar progress in reducing the level of violence faced by the general population. The overall homicide rate fell by 45% betwee... Read more

“… [W]e finalized a trade agreement with South Korea that will support at least 70,000 American jobs – a deal that has unprecedented support from business and labor; Democrats and Republicans. That’s the kind of deal I’ll be looking for as we pursue trade agreements with Panama and Columbia [sic] and work to bring Russia into the international trading system.” — President Obama in his speech today to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Facts are Stubborn Things: In a 3,400 word speech the President me... Read more

Tomorrow, the House will consider legislation to extend the Trade Adjustment Assistance (TAA) program, as well as the Andean Trade Preference Act (ATPA). Coalitions Service Industries (CSI) today wrote a letter to Congress in support of the extension of TAA and ATPA, stating that: "CSI believes that it is important to maintain programs that address the needs of workers, companies and communities adversely affected by trade. This includes initiatives to improve workers’ skills and to facilitate g... Read more

Facing ever larger deficits as the result of massive federal spending and the failure of the President’s stimulus plan to meet its stated goals, the White House again admitted today that the President may increase taxes on middle class families starting next year. While President Obama had previously called for extending Republican-enacted tax cuts for families earning less than $250,000, the Washington Post is reporting that, “in light of the new deficit figures, [OMB Director Peter] Orszag hin... Read more