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Washington -- This morning, Heritage Action launched a new website -- whattoexpect2016.com -- that will put forward the conservative policy battle plan to counter the left's agenda over the next 114 days. As policy debates play out, Heritage Action will hold conference calls with reporters and conservative activists to ensure the conservative policy position is well understood and accurately portrayed. Heritage Action released the following statement from chief executive officer...

When setting up the Obamacare exchanges, three "risk mitigation" (read: bailout) provisions were written into the law to incentivize large health insurance companies to participate in the government takeover of our healthcare industry. The three bailouts are known as the risk corridors, reinsurance, and cost-sharing subsidies. Despite these cronyist "risk mitigations" for big business, Obamacare has been an unmitigated disaster for the average citizen's health plans and tax dollars. In...

On July 12, 2016, the Oversight and Government Reform Committee (OGR) rushed to pass legislation bailing out the U.S. Postal Service (USPS)-the so-called Postal Service Reform Act (H.R. 5714)-without a cost estimate from the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) or a recorded vote. In the process, OGR released a rebuttal document in response to Heritage Action's statement of opposition. The following are responses to those rebuttals. Rebuttal #1 "There is a...

Washington -- This morning, House Judiciary Committee Chairman Robert Goodlatte (R-VA) released his Online Sales Simplification Act of 2016. Heritage Action released the following statement from chief executive officer Michael A. Needham: "Heritage Action will carefully review the details of Chairman Goodlatte's latest plan to force online sales to be taxed. That said, the Republican-controlled Congress would be wise to turn its attention to creating opportunity for everyone, not doling...

Washington -- Lawmakers are contemplating a path forward on the federal government's discretionary spending, which will expire in 32 days. Heritage Action released the following statement from vice president for communications and government relations Dan Holler: "As Congress begins work on a continuing resolution, lawmakers must ensure the length of the funding measure does not necessitate a post-election session of Congress. It is unfair to the American people to allow...

The House will vote on a 10-week continuing resolution (H.R. 5325).

The Senate will vote on a 10-week continuing resolution (H.R. 5325), which in its current form is a substitute amendment (#5082) introduced by Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY).

The House of Representatives will vote on an amendment that authorizes $170 million in new federal spending for the Flint, Michigan water crisis.

Washington -- The Senate is expected to vote to proceed to consideration of the Water Resources Development Act of 2016 (S. 2848). For the past several years, The Heritage Foundation, Heritage Action and various conservative groups have urged lawmakers to make real conservative reforms to this massive infrastructure spending bill, such as eliminating the process that is used to essentially evade the earmark moratorium, reducing spending, aggressively de-authorizing backlogged projects...

Washington -- This morning, the House Republican Conference will meet to discuss a path forward on a continuing resolution. According to reports, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) and Minority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) are nearing a deal to fund the government through early December, necessitating a post-election lame duck session of Congress. Heritage Action released the following statement from chief executive officer Michael A. Needham: "It is unclear...

In response to the housing collapse and financial crisis of 2007-08, Congress rushed to pass the 2010 Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act under the guise of "consumer protection." But instead of addressing the root causes of the financial crisis, such as the government's reckless efforts to expand housing affordability and implied guarantee to bail out large financial institutions, Dodd-Frank empowers the very regulatory establishment which created the...

Washington - Quiet discussions continue over the nature of the forthcoming government funding measure. Heritage Action released the following statement from chief executive officer Michael A. Needham: "Post-election lame duck sessions are designed to avoid the will of the American people. These sessions result in last minute deal-cutting that undermines governmental transparency and conservative priorities. Lawmakers should not pass a stop-gap funding bill that requires additional action in a lame...

Washington - According to reports, health insurance groups are lobbying to extend Obamacare "programs - either reinsurance or risk corridors - that end this year." Heritage Action released the following statement from chief executive officer Michael A. Needham: "Obamacare is on the verge of an all-too-predictable collapse. Rather than do the bidding of the insurance companies, conservatives should force President Obama and his congressional allies to explain Obamacare's failures and...

Background On May 13, 2016, the Obama Administration's Department of Education and Department of Justice issued a joint "Dear Colleague Letter on Transgender Students, declaring that the agencies would "treat a student's gender identity as the student's sex for purposes of enforcing Title IX." This brash claim clearly ignores the letter and the spirit of the 1972 Civil Rights Act, which intended to protect against discrimination based on individual's biological...

Background In 1996 President Clinton signed the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Act, which became popularly known as "welfare reform," into law. The legislation transformed the Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC) into Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF), a program intended to provide temporary financial assistance to low-income families while encouraging work and self-sufficiency. Most significantly, the 1996 welfare reform included mandatory federal work requirements, stipulating that welfare...

Avoiding Accountability This week the House of Representatives is expected to pass a large number of bills (49) under the suspension of the rules, a procedural mechanism that allows Leadership to fly through the consideration of legislation, potentially even passing the bills by voice vote (which avoids accountability to their constituents). If a bill considered under suspension of the rules ends up receiving a recorded vote, it requires a 2/...

Washington - This afternoon, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) unveiled a 10-week continuing resolution. The bill - the Continuing Appropriations and Military Construction, Veterans Affairs, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2017, and Zika Response and Preparedness Act - will necessitate a post-election lame duck session of Congress. Heritage Action released the following statement from chief executive officer Michael A. Needham: "The latest CR proposal falls far short of conservative...

This week, the Senate will vote on a 10-week continuing resolution (H.R. 5325), which in its current form is a substitute amendment (#5082) introduced by Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.). The amendment—the Continuing Appropriations and Military Construction, Veterans Affairs, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2017, and Zika Response and Preparedness Act—falls far short of conservative expectations. Throughout the summer and into the fall, conservatives said Congress should ensure the...

Washington -- On Thursday, the House is likely to vote on the Regulatory Relief for Small Businesses, Schools, and Nonprofits Act (H.R. 6094). The bill, introduced by Rep. Tim Walberg (R-MI), would delay the Obama administration's overtime rule for six months. The rule, slated to go into effect on December 1, 2016, would basically double the salary threshold -- from $23,600 to $47,476 annually -- at which workers are eligible...

Today, the House of Representatives is expected to vote on an amendment that authorizes $170 million in new federal spending for the Flint, Michigan water crisis. Last night the House Rules Committee met and approved additional amendments to H.R. 5303, the Water Resources Development Act of 2016, offered by Chairman Bill Shuster (R-Pa.). Included in this second batch of amendments is an amendment offered by Rep. Dan Kildee (D-Mich.) and...