The budget battle continues
December 21, 2007 | By Nathaniel Ward
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Though Congress ended up passing the largest spending bill in history earlier this week—the omnibus legislation weighed in at 3,417 pages and cost taxpayers hundreds of billions of dollars—the fight isn’t over yet.
Earlier in the week, MyHeritage.org reported how Heritage experts revealed the special-interest earmarks and budget gimmicks hidden in the bill. And it seems the right people were listening: the White House has signaled it may look to block the most egregious pet projects and wastes of taxpayer money.
“The President’s hands are not necessarily tied,” Heritage Foundation budget expert Brian Riedl points out, when it comes to “bring[ing] some merit and accountability to fiscal year 2008’s appropriations.”
For example, the President could issue an executive order blocking certain earmarks. Or he could take a hard line on vaguely-worded language that benefits narrow interests.
A welcome change in South Korea
Lee Myung-bak won South Korea’s presidential election in a landslide on Wednesday. This is good news for both South Korea and America, Heritage’s Bruce Klinger explains.
The conservative former Seoul mayor has pledged to take a firmer stance against North Korea and its nuclear shenanigans, improve relations with the United States and adopt free-enterprise reforms.
Heritage president Ed Feulner discussed U.S.-South Korean policy issues with him in January 2006.
Why religion matters
While the Left looks to build up its misguided and misconstrued “wall of separation between church and state,” the evidence continues to mount that religion plays an important role in our society.
Research compiled by The Heritage Foundation’s FamilyFacts.org finds that religious attendance encourages civic engagement. For example, young people who participate in religious activities are more likely to volunteer in their communities, and those who attend services often are more likely to donate money to and volunteer for non-religious groups.
In other news
- The Federal Election Commission, which suggests and enforces restrictions on free speech in the name of “fairness,” may not function after Jan. 1 because of a political battle on Capitol Hill.
- California is considering releasing up to 22,000 prison inmates in an effort to cut costs.
- New evidence suggests that North Korea, despite its denials, may be conducting a secret nuclear program using uranium.
- Allied forces in Iraq have made a gruesome discovery: an al Qaeda torture chamber. The Associated Press reports that such discoveries are becoming more common as the new counterinsurgency strategy opens up new areas of the country formerly controlled by insurgents. For the latest on Iraq, visit Heritage’s Progress in Iraq website.
- Hundreds of hurricane-damaged public housing buildings in New Orleans are scheduled to be demolished as part of a redevelopment program, prompting violent protests in the city this week.
- The Washington Post reports on how Congressional earmarks and education funding can wreak havoc on local schools’ own initiatives.
- European bureaucrats have agreed to impose a new carbon-emissions cap on airlines, which is likely to increase costs and do more economic harm than environmental good.
Coming up at Heritage
To attend these or any other events at Heritage please RSVP at Heritage’s website. Or you can view these events live online. All times are Eastern.
- On Tuesday, Jan. 8 at noon, a panel of experts will discuss how much progress has been made in Iraq and how sustainable these security achievements are as the level of U.S. troops gradually drops to previous levels.
- On Wednesday, Jan. 9 at noon, author Jonah Goldberg discusses his new book, Liberal Fascism:The Secret History of the American Left, From Mussolini to the Politics of Meaning.
Nathaniel Ward is the Editor of MyHeritage.org—a website for members and supporters of The Heritage Foundation.
