The importance of Heritage to Capitol Hill
February 1, 2007 | By Nathaniel Ward
By providing thorough analysis of the major issues, The Heritage Foundation is a key resource for members of Congress, Heritage Distinguished Fellow Jim Talent said last week.
Speaking to Heritage staffers, the former Missouri Senator told the story of how Heritage experts like Robert Rector worked with him on welfare reform in the 1990s. “It was the understanding, the operation, the savvy of The Heritage Foundation,” he said, “that enabled us, over the course of two years, to, if not repeal it, significantly change it and redefine the landscape.”
Click here to read Sen. Talent’s full remarks on MyHeritage.org.
Taking the message straight to Congress
Though liberals are in charge on Capitol Hill, Heritage’s policy experts continue to serve as important voices for conservative change. Two Heritage analysts recently testified before Congress about two of today’s most pressing issues.
Click here to read more about testimony this week by Stuart Butler and James Carafano.
A triple-whammy tax increase
Liberals came into Congress pledging to increase spending in many areas. But they also pledged to spend only what they could afford with government revenues. Their solution? Raise taxes to help offset the cost of their new programs—regardless of the economic consequences.
Heritage tax experts Rea Hederman, Alison Fraser and Bill Beach explain that it’s not one or two but three tax increases that Americans should worry about. “The House leadership is reportedly discussing raising the Social Security wage cap and repealing some of the Bush tax cuts. Meanwhile, millions of Americans will be sucked into the vortex of the onerous Alternative Minimum Tax (AMT).”
How will the triple-whammy affect your state? Click here to find out.
Marriage: a route out of poverty
“Social science data present a clear picture,” Heritage’s FamilyFacts.org reports. “Economic well-being and marital status are linked. This association is particularly strong for women. “
The full finding on the website goes into more detail:
Marital status is strongly and significantly correlated with the likelihood of being impoverished. Compared to never-married peers, women who had ever been married were substantially less likely to be poor—regardless of race, family background, non-marital births, or education. Ever-married women have a poverty rate that was roughly one-third lower than the poverty rate of never-married women. Currently married women had an even lower probability of living in poverty—about two-thirds lower than other women.
Talking about the war on terror
The Left and its allies in the media have managed to muddle America’s vision for victory in the war on terrorism. Heritage national security experts Jim Carafano and Jim Phillips are ready to push back, however. In a new paper, they posit that there exist “core ideas that should serve as a taproot for a consensus on how to understand and describe the enemy— and ultimately how to defeat them.”
They outline nine basic points that all Americans should be clear on when it comes to the long war.
Click here to read their talking points for the war on terrorism.
In other news
- The Bush administration has announced that it will exercise greater oversight over government departments. Heritage’s James Gattuso tells The Wall Street Journal that this could serve as an important check on bureaucratic regulations.
- The economic expansion triggered by the Bush tax cuts continues strong, the Commerce Department reported yesterday. The economy grew by 3.5 percent in the last three months of 2006, while a key inflation measure actually declined. Overall, the economy grew at a 3.4 percent rate last year, slightly ahead of the 2005 pace.
- Liberals insist that any future agreements on international commerce must impose restrictions on free enterprise, like arbitrary labor and environmental standards.
- In a letter written before he took office, Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper argued that the Kyoto global warming agreement “is essentially a socialist scheme to suck money out of wealth-producing nations.” Meanwhile, former Vice President Al Gore was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize for his scaremongering on global warming.
- Left-wing radio host Al Franken has announced that he will challenge Sen. Norm Coleman (R-MN) for his seat in 2008. Franken recently said he would step aside as a host on the flailing Air America radio network.
- The Senate is considering new regulations on executive pay, though James Sherk points out that any such regulations would likely be ineffective, since firms would simply find a way around them. President Bush also decried high executive pay, though he said government should have no say in how firms conduct their business.
Coming up at Heritage
To attend these or any other Heritage Foundation events, RSVP at Heritage’s events website. Or you can watch these events live online at Heritage.org. All times are Eastern.
- On Monday, February 5 at noon, The Heritage Foundation will screen a never-before-seen Oval Office interview with President Reagan from 1986.
- On Wednesday, February 7 at 11:00 am, Secretary of the Navy Donald Winter will discuss the complex process of transforming the Navy and the Marine Corps to meet 21st-century challenges.
Nathaniel Ward is the Editor of MyHeritage.org—a website for members and supporters of The Heritage Foundation.
