Editorial When the U.S. closed the southern border to Mexican trucking last week -- in violation of the North American Free Trade Agreement -- Mexico promised to retaliate. Yesterday it did, releasing a list of 89 U.S. products that will face new tariffs of 10% to 45%. Mexico's decision wasn't taken lightly. Since 1995, three successive Mexican administrations have worked to get… Read more

Washington, DC – Ways and Means Ranking Member Dave Camp (R-MI) issued the following statement today on the decision by AIG, the insurance giant that received over $170 billion in federal assistance to date, to pay $165 million in retention bonuses to its employees. “I don’t know what’s more appalling: AIG’s decision or the choice by some in Congress to sneak a provision into the… Read more

(Remarks as Prepared) Thank you, Chairman Stark. MedPAC’s March report to Congress illustrates why we must approach health care reform very carefully and thoughtfully.  We don’t need to look any further than the Medicare program to see that the federal government has often shown itself to be incapable of accurately and appropriately administering health care programs. MedPAC… Read more

Colombia FTA Would Help Caterpillar, American Workers Despite the President’s media tour of Caterpillar this year to tout the stimulus bill that passed in mid-February, the company announced another 2,500 layoffs today.  Adding to Caterpillar’s woes is Speaker Pelosi’s continued refusal to act on the U.S.-Colombia trade agreement.  Colombia is a major market for Caterpillar, and… Read more

Editorial Big Government: Even many liberals thought the 1996 reform ended the welfare debate forever. That Congress' stimulus unravels that landmark law proves again the mindlessness of its unprecedented spending spree. The Monica Lewinsky scandal didn't spur prominent Clinton administration staffers to resign on principle. It was President Clinton's embrace of the Republican… Read more

Agriculture, Manufacturing to Bear Brunt Washington D.C. – Ways & Means Committee Ranking Member Dave Camp (R-MI) and Trade Subcommittee Ranking Member Kevin Brady (R-TX), issued the following statement today after Mexico announced that it will retaliate against U.S. exports after Congress eliminated the trucking pilot program: Mr. Camp stated, “While many view the truck pilot… Read more

Washington D.C. - Dave Camp (R-MI), Ranking Member of the House Ways and Means Committee, today questioned the Obama administration’s contradictory approach of offering new loans to the nation’s small businesses just weeks after proposing massive new tax hikes on these employers. “The President’s budget imposes historic levels of new taxes on small businesses at a cost of hundreds of… Read more

By Kevin Sack BOSTON — Three years ago, Massachusetts enacted perhaps the boldest state health care experiment in American history, bringing near-universal coverage to the commonwealth with Paul Revere speed. To make it happen, Democratic lawmakers and Gov. Mitt Romney, a Republican, made an expedient choice, deferring until another day any serious effort to control the state’s… Read more

Editorial We don't mind an intellectual fight, and in a nearby letter, two economists at Resources for the Future take aim at our Monday editorial on how the costs of cap and trade will be distributed across regions and income groups. Dallas Burtraw and Richard Sweeney call it "a bait-and-switch argument." Mr. Sweeney added on his blog that "The Wall Street Journal is an… Read more

SUBCOMMITTEE ON INCOME SECURITY AND FAMILY SUPPORT HEARING ON GLOBAL WARMING AND LOW-INCOME FAMILIES MARCH 12, 2009 [AS PREPARED FOR DELIVERY] Chairman McDermott’s announcement for this hearing began with this statement:  “A major international assessment released in 2007 highlighted the clear consensus in the scientific community that the Earth’s climate has unequivocally… Read more