In the few months since Washington’s dramatic debt ceiling confrontation, America’s fiscal situation has only worsened. Federal spending is set to soar past previous record-shattering levels, endangering the economic future of the nation. This is a moral issue because younger generations will be forced to bear either staggering levels of…
As Congress gears up for another year, reining in spending and debt should top the agenda, but one issue heading squarely against that priority is reauthorization of the transportation program. The last transportation bill, SAFETEA-LU, was marked by gluttonous excesses, which ranged from its porcine spending increases and wasteful spending…
After a year of unproductive brinksmanship, Congress and the President enter 2012 facing the same intractable budget problems as before: a fourth consecutive deficit expected to be $1 trillion or higher, spending that consumes nearly one-fourth of the economy’s total output, and an entitlement-driven fiscal disaster that has drawn…
From The Heritage Foundation, I'm Ernest Istook. …
Overview This hearing is precisely the kind of activity that should be going on much more broadly and regularly in Congress: budget oversight. Year after year, Congresses create new…
From The Heritage Foundation, I'm Ernest Istook. In the aftermath of Hurricane Irene, taxpayers may be asked to pay billions in disaster relief, largely because of flooding. That always raises the question, “Don't people buy insurance to cover these things?” …
It's time for common sense; I'm Ernest Istook. When other countries provide broadcasting, we call it propaganda. When…
The new GOP-controlled House has pledged to rein in federal spending over both the short and the long term. To have any shot at success, though, Republican leadership must first overhaul that bastion of government largesse: the House Appropriations Committee. This will require more than simply changing…
The National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform deserves credit for taking on the large structural deficits that risk eventual economic calamity.[1] Over the next decade, runaway spending is set to double the national debt, which would risk higher interest rates, slower growth, and steeply higher tax rates.…
Soaring government spending and trillion-dollar budget deficits have brought fiscal responsibility -- and reducing government waste -- back onto the national agenda. President Obama recently identified 0.004 of 1 percent of the federal budget as wasteful and proposed eliminating this $140 million from his $3.6 trillion fiscal year 2010 budget…
President George W. Bush has proposed terminating or strongly reducing the budgets of over 150 inefficient or ineffective programs. This is a step in the right direction to pare back the runaway spending that has pushed the budget deficit over $400 billion. In less than three years,…
Abstract : Federal spending is on an unsustainable path that risks disaster for America. Runaway spending has increased annual…
It is business as usual in Washington. Despite a recession and record $1.4 trillion budget deficit, Congress continues to accelerate runaway spending and pork. While families and entrepreneurs are responsibly bringing their own budgets under control, Congress is spending and earmarking as if nothing has changed in the economy. Congressional…
Congress will soon consider legislation to establish a commission that could bring an end to wasteful and counter-productive government programs. Representatives Todd Tiahrt (R-KS) and Kevin Brady (R-TX) are the authors of two leading bills (H.R. 2470 and H.R. 3282) that have been introduced in the House. The Senate…
Weary taxpayers are looking to President George W. Bush and Congress to reduce the tax burden and set a course toward a balanced budget. The President has already proposed a bold plan to reduce the…
Abstract: Congress cannot kick its spending habit. This time it is using the extension of long-overdue tax-reducing provisions to increase spending $174 billion and add $134 billion to the deficit. Even worse, Congress has crammed a job-destroying tax hike and other detrimental policies into…
With federal spending expanding 9 percent in 2006 alone, lawmakers are finally taking up the government waste commission bills (H.R. 5766 and H.R. 3282) authored by Reps. Todd Tiahrt (R-KS) and Kevin Brady (R-TX). Both lawmakers should be commended for taking aim at the outdated, failed, and duplicative programs that have been layered on top…
The General Services Administration’s (GSA) scandalous spending at a 2010 conference has gotten plenty of attention....…
Wonder if it’s too hot to go outside at your workplace? Don’t bother checking the thermometer or stepping outside—the...…
President Obama had hoped to be in Hawaii today for the start of his 17-day Christmas vacation. Instead, he's stuck in...…
The White House yesterday launched yet another signature initiative to cut wasteful spending, once again setting the...…
Sen. Tom Coburn (R-OK) has a powerful ally in the fight to eliminate wasteful duplication in government programs: House...…
The federal government made at least $125 billion in improper payments last year. It spends $25 billion annually...…
House Republicans could fulfill their Pledge to America promise of cutting $100 billion simply by eliminating...…
At first glance, President Obama's motion to kill a program that provides low-income families with energy sounds as...…
In the midst of the worst economic downturn since the Great Depression, numerous unemployed but hard-working Americans...…
Last week, Sens. Tom Coburn (R-OK) and John McCain (R-AZ) released a report detailing 100 wasteful economic stimulus...…