Fwd: National Security Update – “If At First You Don’t Succeed, Please Don’t Try Again: Why President Obama’s Continued Push for Amnesty is Wrong for America”

heritage.org | Heritage research | Blog |                          August 2, 2010 Issue in Depth: Immigration and Border Security The United States was established on principles that support the welcoming of new residents to its shores to learn and embrace American civic culture and political institutions through the processes of immigration and naturalization. Over the past several decades, however, immigration policy has become skewed, falsely presented as an uncompromising decision between unfettered immigration and none at all. Recently, the Obama Administration has begun to call for granting amnesty to the estimated 10.8 million illegal immigrants in the U.S. as part of a comprehensive immigration reform bill. What is needed instead is a phased approach to immigration reform centered on border security, interior enforcement, and legal immigration processes. Please see our most recent research on immigration and border security in this week's National Security Update. Latest Research: The Heritage Foundation: Time to Stop the Rush for "Amnesty" Immigration Reform The Obama Administration is pushing amnesty for illegal immigrants. The Administration has also reversed a number of policies that had improved enforcement. These changes have included ending workplace raids and a shift toward "catch and release" of illegal immigrants, instead of detaining them and deporting them. Rather than pursue comprehensive immigration reform, the Administration and Congress should ensure that the existing policies on border security, interior enforcement, and non-immigrant visas are working. The Heritage Foundation: White House Must Stop Playing Politics with Immigration and Arizona Law In recent days the President and senior White House officials have—in the presence of foreign dignitaries—castigated a law passed in the state of Arizona. This new Arizona law directs that when law enforcement officers engage in a lawful stop, detention, or arrest, a reasonable attempt shall be made, when practicable, to ask about a person's legal status if reasonable suspicion exists that the person is unlawfully present in the U.S. The Heritage Foundation: SBInet: Homeland Security Should Not Abandon Border Security Technology Securing America's southern border is more important than ever. Yet the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is preparing to drop key border security technologies that it has been developing since 2005. This is a decision that makes no sense. The Heritage Foundation: Expand NORAD to Improve Security in North America The North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) has repeatedly adapted to meet a range of national security concerns. First created to confront the growing Soviet bomber threat, NORAD's mission has been expanded to provide aerospace and maritime warning for North America. However, U.S. and Canadian security interests do not end at the U.S.–Mexico border. To enable NORAD to better fulfill its mission, the United States and Canada should invite Mexico to join NORAD. Mexican participation would greatly enhance NORAD's aerial and maritime surveillance capabilities in North America and help to build a common strategic vision across North America. More Blogs: The Foundry: On Arizona and Immigration: Judge Ignores Rule of Law As everyone knows, Arizona, chafed by the Federal government's inability to control the flow of illegal immigrants into the State, enacted Senate Bill 1070 (PDF) in an effort to do something about the resulting collateral damage to it and its citizens. Now, a federal judge appointed by President Clinton, Susan Bolton, has temporarily blocked enforcement of portions of S.B. 1070, reasoning that those portions interfere with the Federal government's system of immigration laws. The Foundry: Hidden Cameras Reveal Border Remains Porous In its latest hidden camera video release, the Center for Immigration Studies (CIS) shows the continuing porousness of America's southern border. The Foundry: Odd Pick for Immigration Enforcement: Why Harold Hurtt Is Incompatible Last month the Obama administration hired former Houston Police Chief Harold Hurtt to coordinate state and local activities for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). Hurtt's support for "sanctuary cities" is hardly in sync with the agency's mission.   More Events: August 4, 2010, 10:00 a.m. - 11:00 a.m.  Location: Washington, DC American Enterprise Institute: After EFCA: The Present and Future of Cross-Strait Relations While the ECFA is indicative of warmer cross-Strait ties, many aspects of the China-Taiwan dispute are not resolved. Shin-Yuan Lai, minister of Taiwan's Mainland Affairs Council, will address these and other questions at this AEI event. August 24-25, 2010 Location: Washington, DC National Defense University: The Economic Element of National Power: Economic Security is National Security This symposium seeks to illuminate and promote informed discussion on the ways in which government and commercial sector leaders must work together to reform and revitalize our national economy to support enhanced national security. Featured speakers include government officials and a wide range of private sector experts. Copyright All Rights Reserved © 2009, The Heritage Foundation The Heritage Foundation | 214 Massachusetts Ave NE, Washington, DC 20002 | 202.546.4400

Fwd: Morning Bell: It's About The Spending, Speaker

08/02/2010 It's About The Spending, Speaker Yesterday on ABC's This Week, host Christiane Amanpour asked Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA): "You are, by all accounts, one of the most -- if not the most -- powerful and successful speakers of -- in the history of the United States. You've passed so much legislation. The President was elected with a significant majority. You had control of both houses of Congress. And yet now, people are talking about you might lose your majority in the House. The gap seems to be growing wider between what's achieved and what's making an impact with the people. How did this happen? ...how did you get to this place where, perhaps, you might lose your majority?" Pelosi responded: "We don't see it that way. We are very proud of the agenda that we have put forth to the American people." The American people sure aren't proud of the Pelosi agenda. According to Gallup, the American people's trust in Congress is at a historic low and their low approval ratings point to big changes in November. Tops among the people's concerns? The economy. Also according to Gallup, 64% of Americans mention some aspect of the economy as the top problem, which isn't surprising since the unemployment rate, at 9.5%, is still 1.5 points higher than the Obama administration promised it ever would be. Now Speaker Pelosi wants to dig the economic whole even deeper by allowing the 2001 and 2003 tax cuts to expire. Pelosi claims that raising taxes on "the wealthiest people in America, increases the deficit and doesn't create jobs." This is just plain false. Research on the last seven recessions shows that small businesses generate about two out of every three new jobs during recoveries. Hitting small businesses with tax increases would kill this job growth. Speaker Pelosi and her allies at The Washington Post may claim that these tax hikes will hurt only a small number of small businesses. But these claims are deceptive. As Heritage Foundation analyst Curtis Dubay has detailed, while only eight percent of small businesses pay the highest two tax rates, those businesses earn 72 percent of all small business income and pay 82 percent of all income taxes paid by small businesses. In other words, those small businesses that would be hit hardest by the impending Obama tax hike earn an overwhelming majority of small business income and employ most of the workers hired by small businesses. Higher tax rates would drain these businesses of cash flow, the lifeblood of any business, and would diminish the incentives to grow and add new workers.