This week marks the 5th annual National School Choice Week, a time for students, parents, teachers, local leaders, and policymakers to celebrate how school choice is paving the way toward a brighter future for millions of students. The numbers speak for themselves: 100,000 students graduate from home schools each year. 1,000,000 students participate in private school choice programs. 3,000,000 stu... Read more »
President Obama spent a lot of time shoring up his legacy during his State of the Union address, which helps explain why he reiterated numerous calls for more programs, more spending, and more government to address the challenges facing the American people. Near the top of the president’s outstanding wish list were his demands for universal pre-K and free community college. We all want every child... Read more »
In his State of the Union address, President Obama was quick to tout his economic record and suggest those who raise concerns with the status of the economy are “peddling fiction.” It’s true that we’ve made progress in recent years, but it’s also important to remember that we’re not out of the woods yet. Not by a long shot. In fact: More than 6 million individuals with part-time jobs want and need... Read more »
After decades of a flawed, top-down approach to education, the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) ends the era of federal overreach and restores control of education to its rightful stewards: parents, teachers, and state and local leaders. Signed into law last month, ESSA has been lauded as “the largest devolution of federal control to the states in a quarter-century.” That’s because the law includ... Read more »
The House will vote today on a bill to dismantle ObamaCare, continuing an effort to roll back the flawed health care law that is wreaking havoc on working families, small business owners, and students. Rather than help Americans receive the care they want and need, ObamaCare has led to: Higher costs for consumers and small businesses. According to the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, the average pr... Read more »
The Gut-Wrenching Truth About Pensions By Thomas C. Nyhan, executive director and general counsel of the Central States Pension Fund The Star Tribune’s recent article about the Central States Pension Fund’s need to reduce pension benefits to save the fund (“New law threatens to slash pensions,” Dec. 14) curiously leaves out one very important detail about the causes for our severe underfunding. T... Read more »
Republicans have long warned of the harmful consequences of ObamaCare – consequences that include higher costs, less access to trusted health care providers, and fewer full-time jobs. After years of living in denial, it seems some leading Democrats are starting to face reality. At a recent event in Iowa, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton volunteered one reason for the disturbing trend of p... Read more »
If at first you don’t succeed, change the rules and try again. That seems to be the motto adopted by Big Labor in its effort to unionize a Tennessee-based Volkswagen plant. After failing to win an election involving all of the plant’s hourly employees, the United Auto Workers prevailed last week in a vote that included only 164 skilled tradesmen, a fraction of the plant’s 1,400 workers. This ploy ... Read more »
Yesterday the House passed the Every Student Succeeds Act, taking an important step toward replacing No Child Left Behind and improving K-12 education. The bicameral bill (S. 1177), which passed with overwhelming bipartisan support: Significantly shift(s) authority over the nation’s 100,000 public schools from the federal government to states and local school districts. (Washington Post) Represent... Read more »
After years of executive overreach and congressional inaction, the House is considering today a proposal that would replace No Child Left Behind and rein in the federal government’s ability to intervene in K-12 education. As news reports highlight, the bicameral legislation, known as the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA), reflects principles House Republicans have long-championed: reducing the fed... Read more »
