Growing the Economy Is the Focus as Republicans Take Leadership

Jackie Gingrich Cushman / Townhall Columnist

My first memory of hearing about the need to revise Social Security dates back to the 1970s. Guarded fiercely by senior citizens, it is often thought of as sacrosanct, as are Medicare and Medicaid. Politicians unable to articulate the real challenges of Social Security, or ineffective at describing its future demise, have battled and come away scarred, but failed to achieve their goal long term. 

 

Ah, but as Scarlett O'Hara said, "Tomorrow is another day," and, well, tomorrow is now.

And it comes in the form of Rep. Tom Price. Slight of build, with frameless glasses and what appears to be a mild demeanor, the new chairman of the House Budget Committee may not initially look like much of a threat. But looks can be deceiving, and it would not be wise to underestimate the Republican from Georgia.

The prestigious and important post he now occupies was most recently held by Rep. Paul Ryan, R-Wis., who has moved on to chair the House Ways and Means Committee. Together, these committees shepherd through the taxation (revenue) and spending bills of the House of Representatives.

Government spending and taxes -- aren't they controlled by the president?

Well, no. The president gets to submit his budget wish list to the legislative branch (House and Senate), but the U.S. Constitution mandates that all bills that raise money through taxes and borrowing and then spend that money must originate in the House of Representatives. This is by design. House members are elected every two years. Senators, with the president, are elected every four years. Therefore, the will of the House members should most closely reflect the will of the people. The bills begin in the House, and then move to the Senate and finally make their way to the president's desk.

On the Senate side, the budget process is being led by Jeff Sessions, R-Ala., the ranking member on the Senate Budget Committee, and Thad Cochran, R-Miss., the chairman of the Appropriations Committee.

The first shot over the bow this Congressional session was the passage of a House rule. While it may sound boring and mundane -- it set the stage for high drama. Any estimate of major legislation "requires the Congressional Budget Office and Joint Committee on Taxation, to the extent practicable, to incorporate the macroeconomic effects of 'major legislation' into the official cost estimates used for enforcing the budget resolution and the other rules of the House," according to the House Budget Committee website.

This means that any legislation that is expected to increase economic growth will be reflected in the forward-looking analysis.

Idiots...

Paris Muslims say Charlie Hebdo massacre “conspiracy designed by the Jews to make Muslims look bad”

Pamela Geller / Atlas Shrugs

Islamic Jew-hatred — it’s in the quran. And we are seeing it with increasing virulence and frequency worldwide. Even in the wake of a jihad attack in which Muslims killed Jews at the Hyper Cacher supermarket, Muslims are blaming…Jews.

“In Paris’s Muslim Suburbs, Some Blame Jews for Charlie,” by Dana Kennedy, Daily Beast, January 13, 2015:

SEVRAN, France — As more than 1.5 million people, including 40 world leaders, converged on Paris on Sunday to rally for unity after terrorist attacks that left 17 innocent people dead, three young men in tracksuits and hoodies lounged outside a fast-food restaurant 10 miles north of the city in Sevran, one of France’s poorest suburbs.

Mehdi Boular, 24, who said he was...

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Nancy Pelosi to name Muslim Brotherhood-linked Muslim Congressman to House intelligence committee

By Robert Spencer / Jihad Watch

 

It could be worse. It could have been Keith Ellison. But this is bad enough as it is. Carson once said that “9/11 was tough on Muslims.”
Discover the Networks reports that Carson has said that American schools should be modeled on madrassas, “where the foundation is the Qur’an.” “On May 26, 2012, Carson was a guest speaker at the 37th annual convention of the Islamic Circle of North America/Muslim American Society (INCA [sic]/MAS), in Hartford, Connecticut. During his remarks, Carson claimed that U.S. schools should be modeled after madrassas—Islamic schools infamous for their tendency to promote sexist, anti-Semitic teachings.

Said Carson: ‘America will never tap into educational innovation and ingenuity without looking at the model that we have in our madrassas, in our schools, where innovation is encouraged, where the foundation is the Quran. And that model that we are pushing in some of our schools meets the multiple needs of students…. America must understand that she needs Muslims.'” The Islamic Circle of North America and the Muslim American Society are Muslim Brotherhood organizations. The Muslim Brotherhood is dedicated in its own words, according to a captured internal document, to “eliminating and destroying Western civilization from within, and sabotaging its miserable house.” If Andre Carson had spoken at the convention of any non-Muslim group dedicated to that goal, would he be getting a seat on the House Intelligence Committee?

“Nancy Pelosi to name first Muslim lawmaker to House intelligence committee,” by Lauren French, Politico, January 13, 2015:

Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi announced in a closed-door meeting Tuesday she would name the first Muslim lawmaker to the House’s Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence.

A senior Democratic aide said Rep. André Carson of Indiana would be named in the “coming days” to the key national security-focused panel. Pelosi (D-Calif.) told lawmakers of the appointment during the members’ weekly caucus meeting.

Carson would be the first Muslim to serve on the committee and was the second Muslim to be elected to Congress. He already serves on the Armed Services Committee and worked for the Department of Homeland Security’s Fusion Center — the clearinghouse established by the federal government to streamline data sharing between the CIA, FBI, Department of Justice and the military.

The intelligence committee will most likely tackle a series of high-profile international crises during the 114th Congress, including the threat of Islamic militants and Ukraine….

Steve Emerson, Reza Aslan, and the mainstream media: some errors are more erroneous than others

Oxford University Press bans mention of pigs in books to avoid offending Muslims