Congress may not have been in session these last several weeks, but plenty has been happening in Washington and around the nation. Below is a brief recap of notable education and labor news – what you might have missed and what is worth watching in the waning days of the congressional session. Common Standards Pave Way for National Tests For months, advocates for local control of education have wa... Read more »
Here is something college students probably didn’t want to learn on their way back to school: thanks to ObamaCare, many may soon lose their school-sponsored health care plan. An editorial from the Wall Street Journal provides the details on why some college students risk losing their current health care plan: Big Foot on Campus Why colleges want a waiver from ObamaCare. In the movie "Animal House,... Read more »
Today is a very good day for powerful union leaders. Congress was summoned back into session – with great complexity and expense – to vote on a multi-billion dollar bailout for unionized state workers. At the same time, the Obama administration is preparing to rollback reporting requirements for union bosses because of the “burden” of “unnecessary government regulation.” The State Bailout: A Boon ... Read more »
The following op-ed was published online at Red State on August 5, 2010 In June of 2009, the unemployment rate surged to 9.5 percent for the first time in almost 26 years. Despite some ups and downs, today the unemployment rate continues to hover near 10 percent and 14.6 million Americans are unemployed and searching for work. I see the evidence of this every time I travel back home to Minnesota:... Read more »
Never one to give up on unpopular ideas, President Obama promised a gathering of the AFL-CIO he will stay in the fight to pass the so-called Employee Free Choice Act. Better known as card check, this undemocratic idea would strip workers of their right to a secret ballot when deciding whether to organize a union. “President Obama told the AFL-CIO on Wednesday that he would ‘keep on fighting’ to pa... Read more »
President Obama traveled to New Jersey today to raise support for his economic policies among small business leaders. It makes sense to hear from small business owners about their ideas to promote a strong and stable economic recovery. After all, they are the nation’s primary source for job creation. Let’s hope this time the president did less talking and more listening because a look at just a fe... Read more »
The head of President Obama’s “fiscal responsibility” commission recently made headlines for stating the obvious: the nation’s $13 trillion (and counting) in debt is a “cancer” on our country. Erskine Bowles, commission co-chair and former White House Chief of Staff for President Clinton, called for solutions to our debt crisis that address spending, saying, “I just want to see the vast majority c... Read more »
If it looks like time is running out on the Democrats’ reckless agenda – look again. With only three weeks of legislative work remaining before Congress starts six weeks of vacation, it may appear the prospects for passing further job-killing policies like card check legislation are growing dimmer by the day. But according to a report by the Wall Street Journal, Democrats are planning an “ambitiou... Read more »
More than a year ago, President Obama declared national health care spending had placed the country “on an unsustainable course that threatens the financial stability of families, businesses and government itself.” The president described health care reform as a “necessity that cannot wait.” Despite overwhelming public opposition, Democrats forced their government takeover of health care through C... Read more »
This week, House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-MD) finally admitted what was obvious to most Americans: for the first time since modern budget rules were enacted in 1974 Democrats in Congress will not pass a budget for the next fiscal year. This failure of leadership could not come at a worse possible time: without clarity on how Democrats plan to get our fiscal house in order, families and small... Read more »
