Q: What is required of Congress in making a budget plan?
A: The Congressional Budget Act of 1974 says Congress should annually adopt a budget plan for the upcoming fiscal year and at least the following four fiscal years. The annual budget is to be adopted as a concurrent resolution, so it is not presented to the President for his signature and doesn’t...
Q: What is National Foster Care Month?
A: For more than 20 years, Presidential proclamations have declared National Foster Care Month in May. It’s an opportunity to raise awareness about the challenges facing the 408,000 children in the foster care system, commend the foster care parents who take in these children who are without permanent, loving homes, and...
The taxpaying public’s confidence in the federal government suffered more setbacks recently with two scandals: excessive spending by the General Services Administration and allegations of misconduct within the Secret Service. The actions by employees in these agencies have led to internal and congressional investigations that call into question the culture...
Q: When will Congress reduce health care costs with medical liability reform?
A: There’s routine opposition to creating an environment where doctors don't have to engage in defensive medicine just to keep their practices open because somebody might sue them. Legislation that could lead to a reduction in unnecessary medical tests that drive up costs was...
Q: What is Tax Freedom Day?
A: Since 1990, the Tax Foundation has calculated how many days a taxpayer must work from January 1 each year to pay taxes that year, including federal, state and local levies. Tax Freedom Day is the symbolic day that a taxpayer’s income no longer goes to paying taxes. This year, Tax Freedom Day arrives nationally on April 17,...
Q: How do you see the recent attention given to lean finely textured beef?
A: I enjoy and appreciate beef in a meal as often as possible, and I have confidence in this meat product, which comes from a process that separates fatty pieces from beef trimmings to reduce the overall fat content. There’s nothing wrong with using all of the edible trimmings of an...
Chances are pretty good you’ve enjoyed at least one meal today before reading the words here in front of you. Due in large measure to generations of hard-working farm families, Americans continue to benefit from a safe and abundant food supply.
Much has been said lately about the one percent vs. the 99 percent in America, usually in a political context. But...
Q: Who is able to witness arguments made in a case before the Supreme Court?
A: The Supreme Court case to consider the constitutionality of the health care law enacted in 2010 has brought public access to court proceedings front and center. While arguments are made for and against the sweeping health care law that requires citizens to obtain health insurance...
Q: What needs to be done to improve the oversight of medical device safety?
A: Post-market surveillance of medical devices should be as effective as possible in order to preserve the fast-track approval process that gets new and innovative medical products on the market for consumers. There’s an opportunity this year to pass legislation to strengthen the...
With spring just around the corner, many Iowans look forward to seasonal rites of passage this time of year. Farmers are itching to get in the fields. Home gardeners anticipate the first shoots of peas and lettuce. Spring cleaning tops the to-do list for many families. School students give thanks for Spring Break. And, soon-to-be-college graduates have their...
Q: What is Sunshine Week?
A: In 2005, a group of advocates, including journalists, launched a national initiative to encourage individuals to play an active role in their government at all levels and to work to give them access to information about their government. Sunshine Week is scheduled each year to coincide with the March 16 birthday of James Madison,...
Q: What’s the effect of rising gas prices?
A: Affordable energy is a major economic issue. In 2011, consumers spent a greater percentage of their household income on gasoline than any other year since 1981. Since January 2009, the average U.S. price of a gallon of regular gasoline has more than doubled. Paying $4 or more for gas acts like a hidden tax and...
Against a staggering national debt that’s surged by $5 trillion in just the last three years, voters will decide in November who will take the reins of Washington’s runaway spending. In the meantime, the fragile economic recovery is struggling to gain traction. Job creators in the private sector are vulnerable to rising gas prices, expiring pro-growth tax...
Q: What’s behind growing support in Congress for the Respect for Rights of Conscience Act?
A: Lawmakers are responding to a decision by the Obama Administration to disregard the freedom of conscience supported by the First Amendment. In issuing a federal rule to implement the 2010 health care law, the Administration said religious-affiliated organizations...
The U.S. Constitution says the President shall address Congress “from time to time” to report on the state of the union. The annual address gives the President an opportunity to take stock of national and foreign affairs and propose policy measures to the legislative branch of government.
It’s part of the kind of give-and-take and checks and balances the...
Q: What is the False Claims Act?
A: The False Claims Act is an important tool for combating fraud against the U.S. government or, in effect, the taxpayers. It’s sometimes called Lincoln’s Law because it was first passed in 1863, in response to unscrupulous contractors who sold the Union Army things like faulty rifles, decrepit horses, and ammunition boxes...
Q: Why are recess appointments in the news?
A. On Jan. 4, President Obama bypassed the Senate and appointed Richard Cordray as director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and three members of the National Labor Relations Board. His move is highly controversial over whether he exceeded his constitutional power to make appointments during a Senate...
Q: How do young Americans get a place at the U.S. service academies?
A: Starting more than 200 years ago, the U.S. service academies have educated and trained the best and the brightest to lead and command the Armed Forces in service to the nation. The young Americans who want to serve our country and win places at the service academies are remarkable for...
President Obama’s appointment of Richard Cordray is unacceptable because it violates both the letter and spirit of the Constitution. The framers saw the dangers of power grabs by any one branch of government. The President upended years of Senate practice and more than 90 years of Justice Department precedent by bypassing the Senate to appoint his nominee....
Q: When will the public have access to information about payments made by drug and device makers to doctors?
A: The public is a step closer to learning just how much money and travel expenses pharmaceutical company and medical device makers give to doctors. This month, a federal agency finally put out proposed guidance for the companies that will have to...
