What is Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act? Section 5 is the temporary, emergency provision passed in 1965 that was supposed to expire after five years. In 2006, Congress renewed it for the fourth time—for another 25 years. It requires certain jurisdictions to get preapproval from the Justice Department or a federal court in Washington, D.C., before making any…

Power and Money Grab from States Taxation and Regulation without Representation: The proposed law would allow states to impose massive regulation and taxation requirements on online businesses outside their jurisdictions. This overreach would break down the federalism protections our Founding Fathers set up in the Constitution.  States Hungry for More Spending:…

Background Tariffs Slow Growth, Jeopardizing Jobs: A tariff is a tax on imports.  The U.S. has thousands of tariffs that raise costs of consumer goods and jeopardize jobs at American companies that rely on imports. The 2013 Index of Economic Freedom, developed by The Heritage Foundation and the Wall Street Journal, demonstrates how citizens of countries that embrace…

Time to Free Farmers and End Costly Depression-Era Subsidies With budget deficits soaring, Congress should reduce unnecessary spending in the farm bill. The Congressional Budget Office estimates that direct spending under the Senate and House 2013 farm bills would be $955 billion and $940 billion for the 2014-2023 period, respectively. Farm subsidies shift the…

Costly Depression-Era Subsidies as Corporate Welfare With budget deficits soaring, Congress should reduce unnecessary spending in the farm bill. The Congressional Budget Office estimates that direct spending under the Senate’s proposed Agriculture Reform, Food, and Jobs Act (S. 3240) totals $969 billion for the 2013–2022 period. Farm subsidies…

Conflicting Dreams The ladder of opportunity vs. the escalator of results: The American Dream is about climbing the ladder of opportunity. The new liberal dream can best be likened to an escalator of results—everyone just hops right on and moves on up. The American Dream: Stemming from our founding principles of "life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness," the…

General Motors Was a Failing Company As a result of long-term mismanagement, flawed business strategies, and out-of-control labor costs, GM was in need of deep restructuring in 2008–2009. The Obama Administration was right to send GM into bankruptcy. As Heritage argued at the time, only bankruptcy would provide the ability to make the changes…

Collapse of Marriage the Major Cause of Child Poverty Single-Parent Households: Single-parent families are nearly six times more likely to live in poverty than families headed by married parents. This is tragic, considering the dramatic growth in unwed births in the last five decades—from under 10% in 1960 to over 40% today.  …

Change Is Overdue Environmental Policies Increasingly Ineffective: Congress is spending more and accomplishing less to conserve America’s environment and use the nation’s natural resources wisely. Since the 1970s, environmental public policy has jeopardized the environment and American liberty by empowering and enlarging distant…

Congress is currently considering several cybersecurity bills. The Cyber Intelligence Sharing and Protection Act (CISPA) passed the House in April, and two Senate bills are being developed: the Cybersecurity Act of 2012, authored by Senators Joseph Lieberman (I–CT) and Susan Collins (R–ME), and the Strengthening and Enhancing Cybersecurity by Using Research, Education,…

Ends Work Requirements Waives Centerpiece of Reform: On July 12, the Obama Administration issued a directive from the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) that guts the successful welfare reform act of 1996. Obama’s new policy allows states to waive the federal work requirement, the foundation of the reform law. …

A Regulatory Mess Hijacking the Financial Sector: The Dodd–Frank statute represents a regulatory hijacking of the financial sector, spanning 2,300 pages delineating at least 400 separate rulemakings by 11 federal agencies. Doesn’t Fix the Problem: Most of the provisions of the act have little or no connection to the…

Congress is currently considering several cybersecurity bills. The Cyber Intelligence Sharing and Protection Act (CISPA) passed the House in April, and two Senate bills are being developed: the Cybersecurity Act of 2012, authored by Senators Joseph Lieberman (I–CT) and Susan Collins (R–ME), and the Strengthening and Enhancing Cybersecurity by Using Research, Education,…

Our Heritage of Religious Freedom First Freedom: Often called the “First Freedom,” religious liberty is a cornerstone of the American experiment. One of the gifts of providence to the United States is a Constitution that has successfully safeguarded the fundamental right to religious liberty. The American Model: The American…

Print the one-page Fact Sheet On January 1, 2013, a $494 billion wave of tax hikes will take effect, hitting every American household, regardless of income. Here’s how much taxes will rise for five different demographic groups: FAMILIES $4,138 TAX INCREASE 5.9% of average income Total filers: 15…