Dominik Lett On June 30, the Senate approved its version of the massive Republican tax-and-spend reform bill on a 51–50 tie-break vote. As written, the bill will add nearly $4 trillion to the debt. Under realistic assumptions about economic growth, congressional extensions of tax giveaways or delays to spending reform, and the fiscal impact of mass deportations, the bill’s cost ...
Stephen Slivinski Real estate agent industry representatives in Puerto Rico are worried these days. That’s a good thing. Governor Jenniffer González Colón has the opportunity to sign into law a licensing reciprocity bill—almost identical to ones adopted by at least 26 states over roughly the past decade—that would allow anyone with a license in the continental US to apply for ...
Solveig Singleton In a letter to the Senate Banking Committee, Senate Democrats described measures to defund the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) as making it “easier for bad actors to cheat American families.” At a June 26th hearing of the House Financial Services Committee, the CFPB’s defenders assert that the agency has helped consumers. But these defenders fail to address ...
Colleen Hroncich Last week, a county judge in Ohio, Jaiza Page, ruled that the state’s EdChoice scholarship programs are unconstitutional. Recognizing that halting them immediately would be very disruptive, she allowed the program to continue operating during the appeal process. After decades of court cases, which have mostly upheld educational choice programs, how are we still at this point? The first ...
Jeffrey Miron On June 3, Keith Johnson of Foreign Policy speculated that the Trump administration, after two bruising court defeats, was eyeing Section 122 of the 1974 Trade Act—a clause that has never been used—to keep its tariff war alive. The provision allows for up to 15 percent tariffs to address “balance-of-payment” emergencies, barring Congress from intervention for up to five months. ...
Peter Van Doren Automobile fuel mileage standards (also known as Corporate Average Fuel Economy or CAFE standards) are back in the news. The Senate budget reconciliation bill (also known as the One Big Beautiful Bill) contains a provision to set the fines to $0 for violation of those standards, although the actual law is not repealed because it could not ...
Matthew Cavedon In 1995, when petitioner Holsey Ellingburg, Jr., robbed a bank, federal criminal restitution was governed by the Victim and Witness Protection Act (VWPA). The VWPA provided that a defendant’s liability to pay restitution ended twenty years after the entry of judgment. Then, in 1996, Congress enacted the Mandatory Victim Restitution Act (MVRA), which extended the liability period to ...
Jeffrey A. Singer Over the past several years, different jurisdictions in the US, Canada, and Europe have allowed people who use illicit drugs to access harm reduction equipment through vending machines. In 1987, Denmark became the first country to permit harm reduction organizations to operate vending machines. Since then, harm reduction vending machines have spread across Europe, including in Austria, ...
David J. Bier On June 26, the National Foundation for American Policy and the Cato Institute hosted a briefing for congressional staffers. I detailed how the Trump administration is carrying out its mass deportation agenda. Here’s the four-part plan I discussed: Strip people of their legal status, legal protection, and citizenship. Arrest based on convenience, not threat, and use of ...
Adam N. Michel The Senate is rushing to vote on its version of the “One Big Beautiful Bill Act.” Republicans are using the budget reconciliation process to cut spending, extend the 2017 tax cuts, reform health care, increase border and defense funding, and deliver on many of President Trump’s campaign promises. Overall, the Senate bill is significantly more pro-growth than ...