Fwd: Federal Debt Could Reach 100% of America?s GDP by 2025, Says Congressional Budget Office

Today's Headlines Thursday, July 1, 2010

Federal Debt Could Reach 100% of America's GDP by 2025, Says Congressional Budget Office (CNSNews.com) – On the same day President Barack Obama told a Wisconsin town hall gathering that his policies mean "the economy is headed in the right direction," the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office projected that federal debt could reach 87 percent of America's gross domestic production by 2020, and surpass 100 percent of GDP by 2025. Nevertheless, the president told the crowd in Racine, Wisc. – a town with the second highest unemployment in the state – that the economy is turning the corner. Neither Sessions Nor Cornyn Directly Say Kagan's View on Abortion Will Cause Them to Vote Against Her (CNSNews.com) – While Supreme Court nominee Elena Kagan's paper trail from her time as associate counsel in the Clinton White House indicates that she thinks abortion is a constitutional right, two top Republican senators on the Senate Judiciary Committee would not say whether this would compel them to vote against her as the next associate justice of the court. Obama's Pick to Administer $20 Billion Oil Spill Compensation Fund Will Insist Claimants are U.S. Citizens Who Pay Taxes (CNSNews.com) – The man who will administer the claims process for individuals and businesses seeking compensation from the $20 billion fund established by BP in the wake of its oil rig explosion said he will follow federal immigration and tax laws when deciding the eligibility of claimants. When CNSNews.com asked if the claims process would include requiring proof of U.S. citizenship, Kenneth Feinberg said "of course" it would. As Obama Calls Out Republicans on Campaign Trail, Republican Leader Blasts His 'Childish Partisanship' (CNSNews.com) - "The President should be focused on solving the problems of the American people -- stopping the leaking oil and cleaning up the Gulf, scrapping his job-killing agenda, repealing and replacing ObamaCare -- instead of my choice of metaphors," House Republican Leader John Boehner (R-Ohio) said on Wednesday. He was responding to President Obama's attack on Boehner and on Republicans in general at a town hall gathering in Racine, Wis., yesterday. Suspected Spy-Ring Paymaster Vanishes, As Russians Mull Conspiracies (CNSNews.com) – Despite some scoffing about a scenario straight out of a Cold War-era spy novel, some U.S. analysts caution that the Russian spy case reveals troubling issues that need to be tackled. "In Moscow, the U.S. is still an intelligence target, not a 'partner' the Obama administration believes it is," one analyst said. CNSNEWS.COM VIDEO Chairman Leahy: Supreme Court Nominee Kagan's Standard on Recusal 'Appropriate' (CNSNews.com) – Supreme Court nominee Elena Kagan testified that she would recuse herself from "any case" in which she served as "counsel of record" or for which she had "signed any kind of brief" as solicitor general in the Obama administration. Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) said that most senators found Kagan's view on this issue "appropriate." OTHER CNSNEWS.COM HEADLINES Millions of Swine Flu Vaccine Doses Have Expired and Will Be Burned Obama Argues for Immigration Overhaul on Thursday Petraeus Briefs NATO on Situation in Afghanistan Arizona to Release Immigration Training Plan for Police Officers NATO Arrests A District Taliban Chief in Afghanistan U.S. Envoy Concerned About Fraying Commercial Ties With Venezuela 1.3 Million Long-Term Unemployed Won't Have Jobless Benefits Extended House Passes Sweeping Bank Rules, But No Senate Action Yet Bipartisan Agreement That Elena Kagan 'Will Be Confirmed' With Russian Spy Case in the Headlines, Hillary Clinton Heads to Former Soviet Satellite States Governors Push for More Health Care Money Jimmy Buffett Gives a Free Concert on Alabama Coast Cash-Strapped Greeks Hit by Higher Sales Tax China Welcomes Visit by U.S. Defense Secretary – Some Day Donate Today! Please help CNSNews.com keep bringing you 'The Right News - Right Now!' Make a contribution to CNSNews.com today. It's fast, simple and secure. Help CNSNews.com and Donate Today!  NEWSPAPER ROUNDUP Disclose Act requirements might end 30-second campaign advertisements Lawsuit prompts NCAA to screen all athletes for sickle cell 'High-risk' pool medical insurance program set to begin L.A. council turns back last-minute plan to delay layoffs California begins fiscal year with no budget Anthem Blue Cross again seeks rate hikes for Californians Costs rise as U.S. Capitol crumbles; $200 million in repairs needed 1 in 4 headsets tourists use at Capitol Visitors' Center doesn't work Provincetown school system revising its condom proposal Polls indicating that Sen. Blanche Lincoln was losing may have been bogus Passport fees are going up July 13 Democrats won't decide fate of Bush-era tax cuts until after midterms New Seattle law will cook restaurant waste into compost Top al Qaeda figure is tied to failed New York City subway bombing plot EPA rejects air permits of 122 Texas plants, putting jobs at risk COMMENTARY Kagan on the 'Right' to Suction Someone's Brains By Terence P. Jeffrey Elena Kagan was not only to the left of President Bill Clinton on partial-birth abortion, but a fair reading of a memo she wrote in 1996 indicates she believed Clinton was a little squishy on the issue. The memo, recently released by the Clinton Presidential Library, demonstrates Kagan was intent on preserving an absolute right to kill "pre-viable" babies—even if it had to be done by sucking out a baby's brains. The Best Place to Be Poor By Walter E. Williams Imagine you are an unborn spirit whom God has condemned to a life of poverty but has permitted to choose the nation in which to live. I'm betting that most condemned, unborn spirits would choose the United States. Why? Because what historically has been defined as poverty no longer exists in the U.S. Let's look at it.

Fwd: Constitution Comes First in Virginia's Obamacare Challenge

Constitution Comes First in Virginia's Obamacare Challenge   RICHMOND, Va. – Visitors in Ken Cuccinelli's modest office overlooking the state Capitol can readily see the appreciation of Virginia's attorney general for the Founding Fathers. (Watch Cuccinelli's interview with Heritage here.) Paintings of George Washington, Thomas Jefferson and Patrick Henry hang on his wall. The Gadsden flag stands next to his desk. And when you ask Cuccinelli about Obamacare, he immediately shifts the conversation to the U.S. Constitution. "I don't think in my lifetime we've seen one statute that so erodes liberty than this health care bill," Cuccinelli said in a recent interview. The Scoop Obamacare Hits Small Businesses With Arrival of Tanning Tax   Welcome to the Real World: Grim Prospects for Young Adults under Obamacare   Price Transparency in Health Care: Will it Bend the Cost Curve?   Sen. Hatch Calls for Repeal of Obamacare Mandates   Revitalizing Federalism: The High Road Back to Health Care Independence "Certainly, we view our lawsuit as being not merely about health care. That's actually secondary to the real important aspect of the case, and that is to protect the Constitution as we essentially define the outer limits of federal power. If we lose, it's very much the end of federalism as we've known it for over 220 years." Virginia's lawsuit asserts that President Obama's health care law is unconstitutional on the basis of its individual mandate requiring Americans to buy insurance. The suit seeks to protect a Virginia statute, passed by the state legislature in March, which says Virginians cannot be compelled to buy health insurance or to pay a penalty if they refuse insurance. A federal court in Richmond will hear oral arguments in the case on Thursday, July 1. That makes Cuccinelli's office ground zero in Virginia's battle to undo Obamacare. Aside from the lawsuit, the state is also facing the fiscal burdens that come with Obamacare. Official estimates put the law's cost to the state at $1.5 billion through 2022. That's because about 80,000 low-income children and teens in Virginia will no longer be covered by the Children's Health Insurance Program, which supplies states with a generous federal match. Instead, they'll be enrolled in Medicaid -- and Virginia will have to foot more of the bill. And those 80,000 children won't be the only people added to the rolls: The state will eventually have to extend Medicaid coverage to some 400,000 additional people. While these fiscal challenges pose a threat to Virginia's budget, Cuccinelli is focused on the law's constitutionality. He believes the case will ultimately end up at the U.S. Supreme Court within two years. Another lawsuit from 20 attorneys general and the National Federation of Independent Business could make its way there, too. That case is currently in a federal district court in Florida. Virginia decided to pursue its own legal path independent of the other states because of the action of its legislature. Cuccinelli believes that, as more states enter the courtroom, the Supreme Court will recognize the importance of the issues at stake. "Never before has the federal government ordered individual Americans to buy something from other Americans," Cuccinelli said. "It is an extraordinary extension of power by the federal government and it is also an imposition on our state's law." The Obama administration views things differently. Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius filed a motion to have the case dismissed on the grounds that the state doesn't have standing to sue -- a move Cuccinelli predicted and had been preparing to counter. He filed a response June 7. Oral arguments are expected in July. Regardless of what happens in the district court, Cuccinelli said he's prepared for a lengthy legal fight. And because he just took office in January, he vowed to remain vigilant. "We are absolutely in it for the long haul, and that's important," he said, noting that he's also suing the Environmental Protection Agency for its claim that greenhouse gases jeopardize human health. "I'm going to be in this office to see these cases all the way through. And we are going to see them all the way through." As he sees it, this is something the Founding Fathers would want the states to do, provide a much-needed check in the system of checks and balances outlined by James Madison in the Federalist Papers. "We can protect our citizens, and be in a position to protect our laws, where we represent our citizens, even against the federal government. Virginia is a sovereign entity in this constitutional system," Cuccinelli said. "We created, along with 12 other states at the time, the federal government as it's currently structured. And we intend to remind them of that with this lawsuit." This article, by The Heritage Foundation's Rob Bluey, originally was posted on The Washington Examiner. Read more here. forward message   or visit our website   The White House has launched a taxpayer-funded Web site to "reality check" credible criticisms and arguments. Problem is the Obama administration's videos "debunking" each "myth" are low on facts. Click here to see our response.   Facebook Twitter YouTube The Heritage Foundation - 214 Massachusetts Ave NE, Washington, DC Call us at 202 546 4400

Fwd: Budget Bulletin: The Three Biggest Myths About Tax Cuts and the Budget Deficit

Budget Bulletin Your source for federal budget news and analysis Recent Updates Hoyer Makes, and Misses, His Mark CBO Reveals Magnitude of Reform Needed for Sustainable Fiscal Future Obama Sings "Spend On" While Europe Acts to Dampen a Crisis Featured Research The Three Biggest Myths About Tax Cuts and the Budget Deficit By Brian Riedl The surging budget deficit will likely dominate the national economic debate for years to come. Even after the recession ends, persistent trillion-dollar deficits are projected to double the national debt by the end of the decade. In the absence of reform, the financial markets will eventually respond by withdrawing capital, pushing up interest rates, and demanding immediate budget reforms—much like Greece is currently experiencing. Putting the federal budget on a sustainable path will require drastic reforms. Balancing the budget by 2020 would require either eliminating one-third of all spending, raising taxes by 50 percent, or a combination of the two. This enormous budget constraint will set the framework for all budgeting decisions—from taxes to health care, from education to Social Security. Finding a solution to growing deficits requires first correctly diagnosing their cause. Both recent and future budget deficits have been blamed largely on the 2001 and 2003 tax cuts, and to a lesser extent on the war on terrorism, but the data contradict these myths. In reality, spending is almost exclusively the problem: The 2001 and 2003 tax cuts were responsible for just 14 percent of the swing from the projected cumulative $5.6 trillion surplus for 2002–2011 to an actual $6.1 trillion deficit. The vast majority of the shift was due to higher spending and slower-than-projected economic growth. President Barack Obama's assertion that most future deficits will result from the 2001 and 2003 tax cuts, the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, and the Medicare drug entitlement is based on faulty methodology, but is still wrong even using that methodology. Above-average spending, not below-average revenues, accounts for 92 percent of rising budget deficits by 2014 and 100 percent by 2017. Nearly all rising spending will occur in Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, and net interest payments. Deficit reduction efforts should focus on the source of the problem: rising entitlement spending. Any attempt to split the difference between broad-based tax hikes and spending cuts should be rejected outright as a false solution. >> Click here to read Brian Riedl's full report Chart of the Week Get more charts with Heritage's Federal Revenue and Spending Book of Charts About The Heritage Foundation Founded in 1973, The Heritage Foundation is a research and educational institute - a think tank - whose mission is to formulate and promote conservative public policies based on the principles of free enterprise, limited government, individual freedom, traditional American values, and a strong national defense. The Heritage Foundation | 214 Massachusetts Ave NE, Washington, DC 20002 | 202.546.4400

Fwd: Morning Bell: The Limitless Power of the Obama-Kagan Congress

07/01/2010 The Limitless Power of the Obama-Kagan Congress This Sunday, our nation will celebrate Independence Day, which commemorates the Continental Congress' adoption of the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776. Thomas Jefferson's Declaration preamble reads: "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness." The fact that we as a nation came together every year to celebrate this document might lead many Americans to believe that a Supreme Court Justice should take the Declaration of Independence into account when they are interpreting the Constitution. Elena Kagan is not one of those Americans. Under questioning from Sen. Tom Coburn (R-OK) yesterday, Kagan admitted: "To be honest with you, I don't have a view of what are natural rights independent of the Constitution." And Kagan's disturbing indifference to the existence of natural rights is just one of the many frightening revelations her confirmation hearing has produced. On Tuesday, Sen. Coburn pressed Kagan about the limits the Constitution places on Congress' power to control what Americans do: Coburn: If I wanted to sponsor a bill and it said Americans, you have to eat three vegetables and three fruits every day and I got it through Congress and that's now the law of the land, got to do it, does that violate the Commerce Clause? Kagan: Sounds like a dumb law Coburn: Yeah, but I got one that's real similar to it that I think is equally dumb. I'm not going to mention which it is. Kagan: But I think that the question of whether it's a dumb law is different from whether the question of whether it's constitutional and I think that courts would be wrong to strike down laws that they think are senseless just because they're senseless.