House Republican leader Kevin McCarthy pulled a rare all-nighter, speaking from the House floor for a record eight hours and 32 minutes and managing to delay the vote on the Democrat’s Build Back “Bureaucracy” bill until this morning. Mr. McCarthy kept the House in session until 5 a.m., providing great detail about what’s in the 2,000-plus page bill and the impact it will have on … [Read more...] about It’s not over yet
Grace-Marie Turner
A 30,000-foot perspective
Sometimes you have to step back from the swirl of shocking, bureaucratic and intrusive vaccine mandates and the legislative wrestling match in Congress to see what is really going on. Here’s how I see it.Political control by one party is bad for our country because it shuts down an inclusive debate over ideas.Decades of gerrymandering have created too many congressional and state legislative … [Read more...] about A 30,000-foot perspective
Jerry-Rigged Framework
Capitol Hill was abuzz yesterday morning as President Biden met with House Democrats to make an (unsuccessful) pitch for a legislative victory before leaving for meetings with European leaders. I happened to be on the Hill, at the invitation of Dr. Michael Burgess, R-TX, to meet with members of the terrific Doctors Caucus to discuss the health provisions in the radical social engineering and … [Read more...] about Jerry-Rigged Framework
Democrats Use Accounting Gimmicks to Conceal Spending in Bloated ‘Build Back Better’ Bill
President Joe Biden is twisting arms to get “agreement” this week on hundreds of tax and spending provisions in his multitrillion-dollar social welfare bill while key Democrats seem to be settling on a plan to keep the price tag down. They want to reduce the overall size of the spending bill to “only” $1 trillion to $2 trillion (as though those two numbers were even remotely close), and only … [Read more...] about Democrats Use Accounting Gimmicks to Conceal Spending in Bloated ‘Build Back Better’ Bill
Putting a Price on Your Life
Democrats in Congress are working furiously to rewrite their partisan spending bill that would transform America into a European social welfare state, without a single hearing or virtually any input from more than 330 million Americans who would be impacted. The bill is so massive and complex that targeting any one part seems like throwing a dart at a dinosaur, but there is one part that … [Read more...] about Putting a Price on Your Life
Read the Bill!
It may seem like things have quieted down in Washington, but don’t be fooled. Staffers are working around the clock to hammer into some twisted shape a reconciliation bill that can get support from the warring factions of their party to “transform America.” Prof. Chuck Blahous analyzed the 2,448-page $3.5 trillion+ reconciliation bill that Democrats in Congress are working … [Read more...] about Read the Bill!
Faltering Agenda?
Hugely consequential and transformative policy and spending decisions often are hidden from Americans behind the complex web of congressional procedures—and, of course, back-room deals. And this could not be more true right now. The ultra-liberal progressive caucus in Congress, with nearly 100 votes, is threatening to block passage of the $550 billion infrastructure bill that already has … [Read more...] about Faltering Agenda?
Drug Price Controls Threaten Biotech Research and Patients
There are too many dreadful provisions in Democrats’ $3.5 trillion spending monstrosity to count, but one is rising to the surface as especially destructive. That would be its prescription drug price-control schemes. A study by University of Chicago economist Tomas Philipson and analyst Troy Durie concludes that the Congressional Budget Office is wrong by more than an order of … [Read more...] about Drug Price Controls Threaten Biotech Research and Patients