Congress is coming back to town, and that means it’s time to hide our wallets. If the leadership of both parties are left to their own devices, by the end of September the government’s spending will have increased once again. This outcome is by no means inevitable; indeed, it shouldn’t even be possible after the Republicans took solid control of both the House and Senate. It will be up to those principled leaders who do care about the financial peril our nation faces to put the brakes on any effort to speed up the government’s spending.
President Obama and Senate Minority leader Harry Reid have made it clear for months that their priority has been to increase spending above the spending restraints they agreed to in 2011 when the president signed the Budget Control Act (BCA) into law. And in June, Senate Democrats straight-up threatened to shut the government down if they didn’t get the increases in spending that they desired. Read more here...
2. FreedomWorks' Congressman of the Month - Tim Huelskamp - by Logan Albright
This month’s spotlight falls on Rep. Tim Huelskamp, who has represented Kansas’ 1st District since 2011, and who has one of the most impressive voting records of any member of Congress, amassing a lifetime grade of 97 percent on Freedom Works’ Congressional Scorecard. He is also a proud member of the House Freedom Caucus, the group of 40 or so representatives dedicated to supporting a liberty agenda in Congress.
Apart from being a fearless champion of freedom, Rep. Huelskamp understands the true meaning of his title “Representative.” More than perhaps anyone else in the federal legislature, he truly represents the people of his District by working tirelessly to listen to their concerns and receive their input. Read more here...
3. Preserving the Fifth Amendment is the Key to Civil Asset Forfeiture Reform in Oklahoma - by Jason Pye
On Tuesday, Oklahoma state Sen. Kyle Loveless (R-Oklahoma City) hosted a panel of national experts to discuss the Sooner State's civil asset forfeiture laws. State Sen. Loveless invited me to speak via Skype, and my prepared remarks can be read below. Other panelists included John Malcolm of the Heritage Foundation and Adam Bates of the Cato Institute.
My name is Jason Pye. I’m the Director of Justice Reform at FreedomWorks. Before I jump into the discussion on civil asset forfeiture laws, if the Senator will indulge me for a moment, I’d like to make a comment about my background. I know that any discussion of policing is likely to bring passionate views, especially in light of recent events, and understandably so.
It’s not often that I have the opportunity to talk about my father in what I do for a living, but I would like to note his influence on me before I get into the crux of my remarks here today. My father, after two tours in Vietnam and two purple hearts, served in law enforcement in the 1970s and 1980s in Metro Atlanta, including a stint with the Atlanta Police Department. Read more here...
4. Student Privacy Is in Danger, but Arizona Is Fighting Back - by Logan Albright via The Blaze
One of the most pernicious aspects of Common Core is the data collection that has come hand-in-hand with the standards.
The Department of Education has been extremely tight-lipped about what kind of information schools are actually collecting, but we know from anecdotal evidence that students are being asked to surrender all sorts of personal details without parental knowledge, much less parental consent.
Education Secretary Arne Duncan has stated that he wants to be able to track students from preschool all the way to their careers using personally identifiable information (PII), and a report from the Department of Education presented a wish list of data collection, including the terrifying concept of monitoring facial expressions and eye movements for diagnostic purposes. Read more here...
5. Liberty Beats: The Unconventional Generation
6. How the Cadillac Tax Will Reduce Your Health Care Options - by Logan Albrights via Watchdog
There’s a lot not to like about the
Affordable Care Act – from the “if you like your plan you can keep it”
lie, to rising premiums and deductibles, to the dysfunctional insurance
exchanges collapsing all around the country, the law has been a great
big mess from the start. But one of the most damaging features of the
law has yet show its full effect. The high-cost plan tax, often referred
to as the Cadillac Tax, is scheduled to hit employers in 2018, and it’s already affecting calculations as businesses plan for the future.
The Cadillac Tax is a 40 percent tax on health benefits provided by employers exceeding a certain value. For 2018, that value is set at $10,200, and it will increase in subsequent years along with the rate of inflation. The tax doesn’t apply to the whole benefit, but only the amount exceeding the threshold. Read more here...
The Cadillac Tax is a 40 percent tax on health benefits provided by employers exceeding a certain value. For 2018, that value is set at $10,200, and it will increase in subsequent years along with the rate of inflation. The tax doesn’t apply to the whole benefit, but only the amount exceeding the threshold. Read more here...
Press Secretary, FreedomWorks
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