A Congressional agenda for 2007
December 28, 2006| By Nathaniel Ward
“This year, the Republican Party lost its conservative soul and, consequently, lost control of both houses of Congress,” Heritage President Ed Feulner writes in The Chicago Sun-Times. “If the new Democrat majority has resolved to maintain its narrow hold on power, it will need to address three topics.”
- Enforce and improve the new Coburn-Obama open-government bill. The law allows for broader transparency about special-interest handouts in spending bills. Additional reforms will ensure the new spending database can be truly effective.
- Chart a course for victory in Iraq. Any policy lawmakers pursue must be one of victory. Iraqis must take a larger hand in their own security, but America must remain committed to protecting the country—and we must not “set a timetable for pulling out until the situation on the ground improves.”
- Deal with our entitlement crisis. Entitlement spending is surging out of control, so “lawmakers owe voters an explanation of how they’ll enact long-term reforms without increasing our tax burden.”
Feulner reminds us that these recommendations are for “lawmakers on both sides of the aisle.” He’s right: these reforms aren’t in any way conservative or liberal. They matter for all Americans.
Nathaniel Ward is the Editor of MyHeritage.org—a website for members and supporters of The Heritage Foundation.
