Heritage Foundation investigative reporter Lachlan Markay wrote a story last week that got people howling. The IRS recently ruled that some of the common devices used in veterinary offices will be hit be hit by Obamacare’s 2.3 percent device tax.  In response, many of the manufacturers are expected to raise their prices, which will raise pet care costs for concerned owners.

A survey in January 2012 showed that more than half  of 181 manufactures of medical devices said they would pass some or all of the tax on to their customers.  Among manufacturers here in North America, that number was even higher–58 percent. According to the American Pet Products Association, Americans spent over $13.5 billion on veterinary care in 2012.  This could rise under Obamacare. Continue Reading »

Michigan’s enactment of right-to-work legislation this week is a major win for the conservative movement. Predictably, the established labor unions are lashing out at the laws and calling them unfair “right-to-freeload” measures.

But as Heritage Foundation labor expert James Sherk writes in the Detroit News, the unions have it wrong. Unions are free to negotiate only on behalf of their members, so workers who don’t join their colleagues in a union aren’t necessarily “freeloading”: Continue Reading »

The Department of Energy  gives grants to companies that produce clean energy. Recently the department gave nearly $1 million in grant funds to a battery company on the very day the company filed for bankruptcy. And where do the funds for the grant come? Your taxes.

The Heritage Foundation’s Lachlan Markay, investigative reporter for Heritage’s Center for Media and Public Policy, explains this grievous waste of taxpayer dollars was given to the battery making company, A123 Systems Inc.

The DOE agreed to give the company a $249 million clean energy grant, of which, as Lachlan explains: “As of November 14, $115.8 million of the A123’s grant remained outstanding.”

Reuters uncovered the alarming  facts about this irresponsible use of tax-payer dollars:

The company, which makes lithium ion batteries for electric cars, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection last month after a rescue deal with Chinese auto parts supplier Wanxiang Group fell apart.

That same day, October 16, A123 received a $946,830 payment as part of its $249 million clean energy grant from the Energy Department, the company said in a letter, obtained by Reuters, to Republican Senators John Thune and Chuck Grassley.

In the letter, dated November 14, A123 said the October payment was the most recent disbursement it had received from the government, with an additional $115.8 million still outstanding on the grant.

Thune and Grassley have pressed the Energy Department for more details about its funding of A123 as the company has faltered.

“The Department of Energy needs to answer for why it appears to put federal grants on auto-pilot to the detriment of U.S. taxpayers,” Senators Thune and Grassley said in a statement. “This can’t stand.”

The DOE responded to the Reuters article by explaining that the grant program continues to reimburse the company for “work they complete toward the goal of the project.”

Investing so much money in a company such as A123 represents just one of the ways the government is misusing taxpayer money. As Heritage’s Rachael Slobodien and Elinor Renner estimate:

123’s “bad bet” cost for government—and taxpayers—at $377.1 million, including “state and federal tax credits, grants, loans, and incentives not listed.”

Do you think the government should put a stop to grants on “auto-pilot”?

Voters in 38 states will have the opportunity to vote today not just in federal elections but on 188 ballot initiatives and amendment questions.

The Heritage Foundation’s Lacklan Markay and Michael Sandoval have identified 10 ballot measures worth watching as returns start coming in this evening: Continue Reading »

Heritage Foundation policy experts have been busy analyzing last night’s presidential candidates’ debate and exposing liberal myths.

The President argued, for instance, that “over the last 30 months we’ve seen 5 million jobs created.” Heritage’s Lachlan Markay clarifies this claim:

Continue Reading »

A new Matt Damon movie, Promised Land, vilifies American oil and natural gas producers as greedy brutes poisoning American small towns. Aside from it’s blatant omission of many facts, The Heritage Foundation’s Lachlan Markay discovered something interesting about the movie’s funding:

While left-leaning Hollywood often targets supposed environmental evildoers, Promised Land was also produced “in association with” Image Media Abu Dhabi, a subsidiary of Abu Dhabi Media, according to the preview’s list of credits. A spokesperson with DDA Public Relations, which runs PR for Participant Media, the company that developed the film fund backing Promised Land, confirmed that AD Media is a financier. The company is wholly owned by the government of the UAE.

Why might the U.A.E. decide to fund a movie attacking American energy production?Because, Markay notes, “A strong global market presence for American natural gas could also work to the UAE’s disadvantage. The Arab nation ranks seventh worldwide in proven natural gas reserves.”

Click here to see the trailer to Promised Land.

Heritage's Lachlan Markay and Israel Ortega get ready to go on-air with Fox News Live's Chris Stirewalt at the Democratic National Convention in Charlotte. Photo: Brian Darling

Heritage Foundation experts are on the ground in Charlotte this week to expose liberal misinformation and promote conservative alternatives during the Democratic National Convention. Also stopping by Charlotte this week: Heritage’s Your Money, Your Values, Your Vote bus tour, cosponsored with the Family Research Council.

Get more behind-the-scenes photos like this by following Heritage on Instagram.

Next week in Tampa, The Heritage Foundation will reach out to GOP convention attendees and journalists to help educate them about the best ways to advance conservative ideas at this critical time for the movement.

For example, Heritage will host a panel discussion about the changing media landscape featuring Heritage fellow and radio host Ernest Istook and Heritage investigative reporter Lachlan Markay. They will be joined by Jim Geraghty of National Review, Mary Katharine Ham of HotAir.com, Dana Loesch of Breitbart.com and Andrew Malcom of IBD.

The event is part of the Future of Journalism Symposium Heritage is co-hosting with the Franklin Center for Government and Public Integrity and the Leadership Institute.

What questions would you ask the panelists next week?

The Heritage Foundation’s investigative reporting team continues to expose big government waste.

Heritage’s Lachlan Markay got the scoop last week:

A report from the Agriculture Department’s Inspector General has revealed some stunning examples of financial waste in the Department’s nascent technology security efforts, which have mismanaged about $63 million in taxpayer funding.

Among the IG’s findings: the USDA spent more than $2 million on an internship program that only hired one full-time intern, $3 million on technology hardware that was never used, and $235,000 on a project that was later canceled due to redundancy.

What do you think? How can government mismanagement like this be avoided?

Sen. Jim DeMint (R-SC) speaks on the Obamacare ruling today at Heritage.

The Supreme Court Ruling to uphold Obamacare  presents a challenge for conservatives.

But as Sen. Jim DeMint (R-SC) said when he spoke at Heritage this afternoon, the ruling “does present some options for us.” Conservatives will just have to pursue more unconventional options as they work towards repeal.

Heritage investigative reporter Lachlan Markay explains one way to push repeal: Continue Reading »