“We said working folks deserved a break , so within one month of me taking office, we signed into law the biggest middle-class tax cut in history, putting more money into your pockets.” — President Obama, Sept. 5, 2011 The president’s Labor Day speech in Detroit featured an assertion that contained a number of warning signs that it might be an errant fact: “biggest middle-class… Read more

Mr. Speaker, this bipartisan legislation, which renews the nearly 40-year-old Generalized System of Preferences, is a vital part of a robust trade agenda – an agenda that makes American companies more competitive and increases American exports.  GSP is an important tool for boosting economic growth and job creation. Just last week, we learned that on the whole there was zero job… Read more

In August, President Obama told Americans that he would unveil yet another jobs plan on September 8, 2011 during an address before a Joint Session of Congress.  Why hold such a grand and high profile event?  The obvious reason is because prior plans and proposals offered up by the Obama Administration have failed to deliver the jobs that have been promised time and time… Read more

Back in November 1936, the U.S. Postal Service first began issuing Social Security cards to workers.  Even though Social Security numbers were created to track earnings for determining Social Security benefits, today these numbers are widely used as personal identifiers.   Some uses of Social Security numbers are mandated, for example for income and tax-related reporting to… Read more

NOW August 2011 White House aims to speed up job-creating projects: “President Barack Obama wants to hit the accelerator on job-creating infrastructure projects.” THEN June 2011 President Obama Presented Ideas to Accelerate Job Growth and America’s Competitiveness at Jobs Council Meeting December 2010 Obama to meet with CEOs in Blair House session: “In an effort… Read more

August 22 marks the 15th anniversary of the successful 1996 welfare reform law, passed by a Republican Congress and ultimately signed into law by Democratic President Bill Clinton on August 22, 1996 (after he vetoed two prior versions).  The law created the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program, which replaced the prior welfare program.  As reflected in the… Read more

President Obama says he wants to get the U.S. economy growing, so here's a tip that may help: In order for Congress to ratify free-trade agreements, the White House must first send the signed deals to the other end of Pennsylvania Avenue. On his three-state tour in the Midwest this week, Mr. Obama repeatedly told audiences that the Korea, Colombia and Panama free-trade deals… Read more

The media is abuzz with “Breaking News” that in early September the President will outline his latest plan for job creation.   This latest pronouncement, however, may leave Americans wondering if they are like the Bill Murray character in the movie Groundhog Day: forced to relive speech after speech from the President about jobs, but with no different results.  A look back… Read more

Ways and Means Chairman Dave Camp (R-MI) and Trade Subcommittee Chairman Kevin Brady (R-TX) issued the following statements today after Canada and Colombia announced that the trade agreement between those two countries has entered into force today, putting American workers and exporters at a disadvantage as they seek to export American goods and services to Colombia. … Read more

Despite repeated promises by the President that the Democrats' health care law would ease what is frequently referred to as one of the top challenges plaguing employers – affordability – a new employer survey released today confirms again that the law is increasing, not decreasing health care costs. The “Health Care Organizations Health Care Reform Readiness Survey,” conducted by Buck… Read more