Category Archives: Fiscal Freedom

ANALYSIS/OPINION:

The media has hyper-obsessed over the Kansas tax hike this year and has sold this as a repudiation of supply side economics. But the real story in the states has been the catastrophic effects of tax and spend fiscal policy in Illinois.

Last week Illinois House Speaker for life Mike Madigan endorsed a $5 billion annual income tax hike. This would be the largest tax increase of any state in years. Republican Governor Bruce Rauner has blocked new taxes for three years but is now under intense pressure from the Springfield political machine to agree to the revenue heist.

Anyone who thinks this soak-the-rich scheme will solve Illinois long term budget crisis should have their head examined. Illinois already ranks in the top three among the 50 states in state-local tax burden, so if raising taxes were any kind of solution here, the Land of Lincoln would be a Garden of Eden.

Instead the state has been a financial basket case for years.

This is a state that is now $14.5 billion in arrears in paying its bills, whose bonds have been downgraded to near junk bond status, and that is losing its most valuable resource: its businesses and citizens. Small business contractors have to wait 6 months or more to get paid.

Back in 2013 the previous governor, Democrat Pat Quinn, followed the advice of economists like Paul Krugman of The New York Times, and raised taxes on the very wealthiest residents of the Land of Lincoln. He argued that the super rich in Illinois could easily afford to pay a bigger share of the tax load and no one would leave.

The more Mr. Quinn raised taxes, the deeper the budget hole got. Whole resort towns in Florida and Arizona have become high-income refugee camps of former affluent residents of Chicagoland.

In 2014 the voters dumped Mr. Quinn and his tax and spend economics and opted for businessman Bruce Rauner, a Republican. Mr. Rauner tried to fight the empire in Springfield, but was stymied every step of the way. Democrats laughed away his call for a constitutional spending cap, reforms to a pension system that is $200 billion in the red, a property tax cap, and so on. Instead the Democrats mantra sounded a lot like the giant plant in the film Little Shop of Horrors: feed me.

If there is any state that desperately needs term limits it is this one.

The tax increase is a punt in dealing with the massive unfunded liabilities in its government pension system. According to the Council On Government and Financial Accountability, Illinois pension payments are the major contributor to spending growth. Following the recent credit downgrade, Moodys cited the states overwhelming pension debt level as a contributor to the poor credit rating and negative outlook. In November, the state reported having $130 billion in unfunded pension liabilities, but Moodys calculates that level of pension debt as twice as high or $251 billion. A recent Hoover Institution analysis estimates Illinois pension funding ratio to be 29 percent, the lowest level in the United States.

According to Donna Arduin, a former budget advisor to Gov. Rauner, if the pensions arent curtailed, soon as much as one in four tax dollars in the state will not go for schools, or roads, of health care, or police and fire, but pension payments to retired employees many who no longer live in the state.

With a financial outlook like this, is it any wonder that some half-million more Americans left Illinois than moved there over the last decade? Only two states California and New York, two other liberal pantheons have lost more residents to other states than Illinois.

The recent actions in Springfield bring to mind the words of former Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels who once joked: Being a neighbor to Illinois is like living next door to the Simpsons.

So what is the lesson for the rest of America? Soak the rich economics almost never works. As tax receipts keep sinking in Illinois, the safety net is tattered, the roads are in disrepair, crime is out of control in Chicago, and the state is home to some of the worst schools in the nation.

When you try to soak the rich, they leave, the state goes bankrupt and its the middle class that gets all wet. Hows that for tax fairness?

Why is the national media ignoring this story?

Stephen Moore is an economic consultant at Freedom Works and senior economic analyst at CNN.

Here is the original post:

The Banana Republic of Illinois - Washington Times

Republican Tyler Deaton has known he was attracted to men as far back as he can remember. When he was four or five, he would draw himself marrying another man. I knew I was different in that way before Id ever even been taught it was wrong, he says.

It wasnt until a few years later that he learned in church that what he was feeling was sinful. I distinctly remember a night when I was in third grade, all night long, just crying. Finding these different sections in the Bible and just crying. I didnt sleep that night. That stuck with me for a long time. That one night, it was a revelation.

Deaton was part of a conservative evangelical Christian family living in Georgia. He was taught to live by the Bible as the literal word of God. And he did, in a lot of ways. But he also knew that he was gay and that it wasnt going to change.

Deatons story is one of 23 interviews conducted between 2015 and 2016 by the Bancroft Librarys Oral History Center at UC Berkeley. The interviews, conducted by the centers director, Martin Meeker, explore Freedom to Marry a national campaign that won the federal right for same-sex couples to get married and how it fits in withthe decades-long marriage movement.

Tyler Deaton

I never wanted to change, Deaton told Meeker, about being gay. And I knew I couldnt. I spent most of my time trying to figure out how I could at least feel better about myself.

By high school, the 10th grader began to realize that there were other ideas out there. He took a zoology class, where he learned about evolutionary theory. And he began to piece together his own value system apart from the traditional mold hed been expected to fill

In college, he met Jay, whom he would later marry in New Hampshire, one of the only states that was politically conservative but also LGBT-friendly a rare find in the U.S.

Because although Deaton supported LGBT issues, he was also a Republican. He believed in small government. He was conservative on fiscal and national security issues. Hed voted for George W. Bushs reelection in 2004 (the first time he was old enough to vote) and for John McCain in 2008. I really wish hes been president in 2008, he says. I voted for him enthusiastically over Barack Obama. Would do it again.

Same-sex marriage, to Deaton, was a single issue. It shouldnt be part of a larger, left-leaning progressive movement, he thought. There are a lot of Republicans who just will never even open the door being of a part of it then, he says. But if you keep it a single issue, you can build a coalition around that.

In 2011, when Tea Party Republicans threatened to repeal New Hampshires same-sex marriage law, which had been enacted three years before Deaton couldnt let it happen.

Tyler Deaton (right) and his now husband Jay McClure in 2013

The young Republican would go on to lead a trailblazing effort, convincing his fellow conservatives in the state to support the freedom to marry. In 2012, the bill to repeal the law was defeated by a bipartisan vote in the state legislature, 211 to 116, with more than 100 Republicans voting against the repeal. Deaton went on to be a founding member of the Young Conservatives for the Freedom to Marry.

Read the transcript of thefull interview with Tyler Deaton to find out how he worked with Republicans to defeat the repeal of the freedom to marry in New Hampshire.

Learn more about the Oral History Centers Freedom to Marry project.

On Sunday, the Cal Alumni Association is partnering withtheGender Equity Resource Center to lead a group of UC Berkeley alumni, students, faculty, staff and friends in the 47th annual San Francisco Pride Parade. Those planning to march are encouraged to register. The first 300 people to register and arrive at the meetup location will receive a free Cal Pride T-shirt. For more information and to register, visit the event page.

Excerpt from:

One young Republican's pursuit of the 'Freedom to Marry' - UC Berkeley

City Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito is being accused of slashing an annual grant to a respected Puerto Rican institute by nearly half this year as retribution for the directors unwillingness to publicly support convicted terror leader Oscar Lpez Riveras starring role in the recent Puerto Rican Day Parade.

Since Mark-Viverito took the helm of the council in 2014, CUNYs Center for Puerto Rican Studies at Hunter College headed by Edwin Melendez has received $970,000 in discretionary funding each year.

But after a flap within the Puerto Rican community over the parades initial decision to honor Lpez Rivera with a National Freedom Hero award, the center saw its funding cut to $500,000 for fiscal 2018, council budget records show.

Mark-Viverito is a vocal supporter of Lpez Rivera, despite his former leadership role in the FALN a Puerto Rican terrorist group that took responsibility for more than 100 bombings in the 1970s and 80s that killed five people in New York City. He was convicted of seditious conspiracy and spent 35 years in prison before then-President Barack Obama commuted his sentence in January.

Melendez apparently refused to publicly defend the Puerto Rican Parades honoring of Oscar Lpez Rivera, Angelo Falcon, director for the National Institute for Latino Policy, wrote in a newsletter that first reported the funding cut on Friday.

If anything, this shows the problems that such political funding can have: What Mark-Viverito gives, on the one hand, she can easily take away with the other if you dont play ball with her, he added.

Falcon told The Post that several people told him Melissa was pissed off at [Melendez] and boom!

At the same time, CUNYs Dominican Studies Institute at City College which has received the same funding as the Puerto Rican center for the past three years saw its allotment continue at the $970,000 level in fiscal 2018.

Asked about the allegations of political retribution by Mark-Viverito, Melendez told The Post, I have no comment.

In an e-mail response to Falcon, Melendez confirmed the funding cut without addressing the issue of political payback.

We have learned that this City Council allocation has been reduced for the next fiscal year, which begins on July 1, 2017. Our core services will continue unaffected, Melendez wrote in the e-mail. We will continue to identify sources of funding that will permit Centro to continue offering the engagement and dissemination activities to the community in accordance to our mission.

A City Council spokeswoman did not address the allegations directly, saying instead the council was proud to support CUNY research initiatives.

Our $2.14 million in funding, which includes the addition of the newly funded Haitian and Mexican Studies Institutes, will continue to give students the resources to make the most of their studies and to support important research on these diverse communities, the spokeswoman said.

More here:

PR institute says Mark-Viverito slashed funding after parade dispute - New York Post

WASHINGTON (AFNS) -- Secretary of the Air Force Heather Wilson and Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. David L. Goldfein briefed congressional leaders on the Senates Defense Appropriations Committee on the future of air and space power during testimony on Capitol Hill June 21.

The leaders highlighted that efforts to restore readiness and increase the lethality of the force were foremost in their minds. Wilson said any objective evaluation of todays Air Force reached two conclusions: The Air Force is too small for what the nation expects of it and adversaries are modernizing and innovating faster putting Americans technological advantage at risk.

"The fiscal year 2017 budget began to arrest the decline, and restore the readiness of the force, so this fiscal 2018 budget starts us, I hope, on the road to recovery, she said. Air Force in Demand

Looking forward, Wilson and Goldfein do not envision the demand for air and space power diminishing in the coming decade.

Today, the Air Force is manned with 660,000 active, Guard, Reserve and civilian Airmen, a 30 percent decline since Operation Desert Storm 26 years ago.

"If I'd been talking to the Air Force in 1991, I'd [have] been looking at an Air Force of over 8,600 aircraft, 134 fighter squadrons from which we deployed 34, Goldfein said. Today, the grand total of your United States Air Force, active, Guard, Reserve, is 55 squadrons total. This is a much smaller force that's engaged in the same level of activity as we were in 1991."

The Air Force leaders said while the fiscal 2018 budget request focuses on restoring readiness and increasing lethality, future budgets must focus on modernization and continued readiness recovery.

Restoring readiness

The two testified that maintaining superiority starts with people.

"For Airmen, it's nothing short of a moral obligation to ensure that we establish air superiority quickly whenever and wherever it's required," Goldfein said.

The fiscal 2018 budget will bring the active duty force from 321,000 to 325,100 while also adding 800 Reservists, 600 Guardsmen, and 3,000 civilians, bringing the total force to approximately 669,000. The increased manpower will focus primarily on increasing remotely piloted aircraft crews, maintainers and pilot training capacity by adding two additional F-16 training squadrons and maximizing flying hours to the highest executable levels.

Wilson said next to people, the most obvious readiness need is munitions. In the fight against the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria, the Air Force has delivered approximately 56,000 direct-attack munitions, more than it used in all of Operation Iraqi Freedom. The fiscal 2018 budget funds maximum factory production of the most critical munitions. Modernization

The fiscal 2018 budget focuses on the Air Forces top three modernization programs:

Purchasing 46 F-35A Lightning II fighters and modernizing other fighters; Buying 15 KC-46 Pegasus tankers; Funding the B-21 Raider bomber development

The proposed budget also supports the continuation and modernization of the nuclear triad with funds dedicated to both air- and ground-based capabilities.

Our nuclear enterprise is getting old and we must begin modernizing now to ensure a credible deterrent, Wilson said.

"Standing side-by-side with the United States Navy, we're responsible for two of the three legs of the nuclear triad, Goldfein said. "On our worst day as a nation, our job is to make sure that we have the commander in chief where he needs to be, when he needs to be there, and through nuclear command and control - which we're responsible for - that he stays connected to a ready force to be able to defend this nation and deter adversaries as we also assure our partners."

Space

The Air Force has been the leading military service responsible since 1954. Over the last several years, the service has been developing concepts for space control, changing the way it trains its space force and integrating space operations into the joint fight.

"This budget proposal has a 20 percent increase for space, that means situational awareness -- the ability to not just catalog what's up there, which we would do in a benign environment, but to have a near-real-time understanding of what is going on in space, who is moving and where they're moving to," said Wilson.

The proposed budget increases space funding, including a 27 percent increase in research, development, testing and evaluation for space systems, and a 12 percent increase for space procurement.

On June 16, 2017, Wilson announced the establishment of the new headquarters space directorate. This directorate will be led by the deputy chief of staff for space operations, who will be the advocate for space operations and requirements to meet the demands of a warfighting domain.

"Weve provided GPS for the world. Weve transformed not only the way we fight but the way all of you probably navigate around the city, Wilson added. We must expect that war, of any kind, will extend into space in any future conflict, and we have to change the way we think and prepare for that eventuality.

Innovation for the future

Research, development, testing and evaluation are critically important for the Air Force, Wilson and Goldfein said.

To prevail against rapidly innovating adversaries, the Air Force must accelerate procurement. The service will take advantage of authorities provided in the fiscal 2017 Defense Authorization Act to help field operational capabilities faster than ever before, Wilson said.

The request for funding for long-term research in air dominance increased significantly in the fiscal 2018 budget. The Air Force will seek to increase basic and applied research in areas where it must maintain the competitive advantage over adversaries. This includes hypersonic vehicles, directed-energy, unmanned and autonomous systems and nanotechnology.

Budget stability

Its going to take approximately eight years to be able to get to full spectrum readiness with stable budgets, Goldfein said. The Air Force will be unable to execute the defense strategic guidance under sequester.

If the Budget Control Act limit is not fixed and we have to go through sequester, that will be equivalent to a $15 billion cut, Wilson said. The Air Force is too small for what the nation expects of us now; sequestration would make the situation worse, she said.

According to Wilson and Goldfein, by supporting the budget request, Congress can provide fiscal predictability to the Air Force so it can continue to own the high ground, defend the homeland and project power in conjunction with allies.

Link:

Air Force leaders continue to emphasize air and space priorities on Capitol Hill - Schriever Air Force Base

Its predictable

A government in need of cash will turn to destructive solutions.

Money printing, higher taxes, and more regulations often come first. Unfortunately, these are just the hors doeuvres before a 10-course meal.

As they become increasingly desperate, governments implement increasingly destructive policies. This might include capital controls, price controls, people controls, official currency devaluations, wealth confiscations, retirement account nationalizations, and more.

The same pattern has played out again and again around the world and throughout history. The worse a governments fiscal health gets, the more destructive its policies become.

This is the root of political risk.

Its no secret that political risk is snowballing in many parts of the world. This is especially true in the US and Europe, where welfare and warfare spending continues unabated. It doesnt matter which party is in power.

But no matter where you live, international diversification can greatly reduce the threat your home government poses to your personal and financial wellbeing.

You know the benefits of diversifying your investment portfolio. If you put all of your asset eggs in one basket, you could lose your entire portfolio if that basket breaks.

The same idea applies to political risk. If your home country breaksand turns to the destructive policies I just mentionedyou could lose everything.

Most people have medical, life, fire, and car insurance. You hope you never have to use these policies, but you have them anyway. They give you peace of mind and protect you if and when the worst does happen.

International diversification is the ultimate insurance policy against an out-of-control government. Think of it as freedom insurance.

It frees you from absolute dependence on any one country. Achieve that freedom, and it becomes very difficult for any group of bureaucrats to control you.

The results can be life changing.

Its crucial to place some of your savings beyond the easy reach of your home government. It keeps that government from trapping your money if and when it implements capital controls or outright asset seizures. Any government can do either without warning.

The ultimate way to diversify your savings is to transfer it out of the immediate reach of your home government and into something tangible.

Something that cannot be easily confiscated, nationalized, frozen, or devalued at the drop of a hat or with a couple of taps on the keyboardwhile retaining as much privacy as legally possible.

Something whose value is recognized around the world and is not controlled by any government.

Gold and silver fit the bill perfectly.

There is nothing particularly American, Chinese, Russian, or European about gold. Different civilizations have used it as money for millennia. Its always been an inherently international asset.

Buying gold is perhaps the easiest step you can take towards diversifying your savings.

When you buy gold, you trade in paper moneywhich the government can devalue and confiscate at willfor a hard asset thats been a stable store of value for thousands of years.

Gold is universally valued. Its worth doesnt depend on any government.

In other words, simply buying gold is the easiest way to lessen the political risk to your savings.

Somehow, someway, your home government will keep squeezing your pocketbook harder. It will keep subjecting you to escalating, arbitrary, and burdensome regulations and restrictions.

Expect more government and less freedom all around.

With each passing week, the window to protect your personal and financial freedom closes a bit more.

Fortunately, you dont need to be hostage to a desperate and out-of-control government.

International diversification is a time-tested route to freedom. Wealthy people around the world have used it for centuries to effectively protect their money and their families.

Buying gold is an important first step.

But theres much more to do

The US government gets bigger, more invasive, and more aggressive by the day. But you can take concrete steps to protect yourself from this hostile giant. Nick Giambruno

Please check back for new articles and updates at Commoditytrademantra.com

The rest is here:

Buying Gold is the Important First Step to Freedom Insurance - Commodity Trade Mantra

WASHINGTON (AFNS) -- Secretary of the Air Force Heather Wilson and Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. David L. Goldfein briefed congressional leaders on the Senates Defense Appropriations Committee on the future of air and space power during testimony on Capitol Hill June 21.

The leaders highlighted that efforts to restore readiness and increase the lethality of the force were foremost in their minds. Wilson said any objective evaluation of todays Air Force reached two conclusions: The Air Force is too small for what the nation expects of it and adversaries are modernizing and innovating faster putting Americans technological advantage at risk.

"The fiscal year 2017 budget began to arrest the decline, and restore the readiness of the force, so this fiscal 2018 budget starts us, I hope, on the road to recovery, she said. Air Force in Demand

Looking forward, Wilson and Goldfein do not envision the demand for air and space power diminishing in the coming decade.

Today, the Air Force is manned with 660,000 active, Guard, Reserve and civilian Airmen, a 30 percent decline since Operation Desert Storm 26 years ago.

"If I'd been talking to the Air Force in 1991, I'd [have] been looking at an Air Force of over 8,600 aircraft, 134 fighter squadrons from which we deployed 34, Goldfein said. Today, the grand total of your United States Air Force, active, Guard, Reserve, is 55 squadrons total. This is a much smaller force that's engaged in the same level of activity as we were in 1991."

The Air Force leaders said while the fiscal 2018 budget request focuses on restoring readiness and increasing lethality, future budgets must focus on modernization and continued readiness recovery.

Restoring readiness

The two testified that maintaining superiority starts with people.

"For Airmen, it's nothing short of a moral obligation to ensure that we establish air superiority quickly whenever and wherever it's required," Goldfein said.

The fiscal 2018 budget will bring the active duty force from 321,000 to 325,100 while also adding 800 Reservists, 600 Guardsmen, and 3,000 civilians, bringing the total force to approximately 669,000. The increased manpower will focus primarily on increasing remotely piloted aircraft crews, maintainers and pilot training capacity by adding two additional F-16 training squadrons and maximizing flying hours to the highest executable levels.

Wilson said next to people, the most obvious readiness need is munitions. In the fight against the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria, the Air Force has delivered approximately 56,000 direct-attack munitions, more than it used in all of Operation Iraqi Freedom. The fiscal 2018 budget funds maximum factory production of the most critical munitions. Modernization

The fiscal 2018 budget focuses on the Air Forces top three modernization programs:

Purchasing 46 F-35A Lightning II fighters and modernizing other fighters; Buying 15 KC-46 Pegasus tankers; Funding the B-21 Raider bomber development

The proposed budget also supports the continuation and modernization of the nuclear triad with funds dedicated to both air- and ground-based capabilities.

Our nuclear enterprise is getting old and we must begin modernizing now to ensure a credible deterrent, Wilson said.

"Standing side-by-side with the United States Navy, we're responsible for two of the three legs of the nuclear triad, Goldfein said. "On our worst day as a nation, our job is to make sure that we have the commander in chief where he needs to be, when he needs to be there, and through nuclear command and control - which we're responsible for - that he stays connected to a ready force to be able to defend this nation and deter adversaries as we also assure our partners."

Space

The Air Force has been the leading military service responsible since 1954. Over the last several years, the service has been developing concepts for space control, changing the way it trains its space force and integrating space operations into the joint fight.

"This budget proposal has a 20 percent increase for space, that means situational awareness -- the ability to not just catalog what's up there, which we would do in a benign environment, but to have a near-real-time understanding of what is going on in space, who is moving and where they're moving to," said Wilson.

The proposed budget increases space funding, including a 27 percent increase in research, development, testing and evaluation for space systems, and a 12 percent increase for space procurement.

On June 16, 2017, Wilson announced the establishment of the new headquarters space directorate. This directorate will be led by the deputy chief of staff for space operations, who will be the advocate for space operations and requirements to meet the demands of a warfighting domain.

"Weve provided GPS for the world. Weve transformed not only the way we fight but the way all of you probably navigate around the city, Wilson added. We must expect that war, of any kind, will extend into space in any future conflict, and we have to change the way we think and prepare for that eventuality.

Innovation for the future

Research, development, testing and evaluation are critically important for the Air Force, Wilson and Goldfein said.

To prevail against rapidly innovating adversaries, the Air Force must accelerate procurement. The service will take advantage of authorities provided in the fiscal 2017 Defense Authorization Act to help field operational capabilities faster than ever before, Wilson said.

The request for funding for long-term research in air dominance increased significantly in the fiscal 2018 budget. The Air Force will seek to increase basic and applied research in areas where it must maintain the competitive advantage over adversaries. This includes hypersonic vehicles, directed-energy, unmanned and autonomous systems and nanotechnology.

Budget stability

Its going to take approximately eight years to be able to get to full spectrum readiness with stable budgets, Goldfein said. The Air Force will be unable to execute the defense strategic guidance under sequester.

If the Budget Control Act limit is not fixed and we have to go through sequester, that will be equivalent to a $15 billion cut, Wilson said. The Air Force is too small for what the nation expects of us now; sequestration would make the situation worse, she said.

According to Wilson and Goldfein, by supporting the budget request, Congress can provide fiscal predictability to the Air Force so it can continue to own the high ground, defend the homeland and project power in conjunction with allies.

Continued here:

Air Force leaders continue to emphasize air and space priorities on Capitol Hill - Air Force Link

"I'd like to see that done earlier," said Senate Majority Whip John Cornyn of Texas when asked about lifting the debt ceiling in September. | AP Photo

Senate Republicans are planning for a July vote to raise the debt ceiling, according to senators and aides.

But House Republicans aren't prepared to show their hand yet, although they also hope to resolve the issue before the August recess begins. Yet with a possible health care vote in July if the Senate passes a bill top House Republicans are worried that the two issues could become entangled politically, making two already difficult votes even tougher.

Story Continued Below

Though the Treasury Department has said Congress can likely wait until September to avoid default, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and his lieutenants are increasingly disposed to clearing the Senates plate as much as possible before heading home for August recess. That would also likely mean decoupling the debt ceiling from a potential government shutdown fight in September.

Its not clear what exactly such a bill would look like, but members of both parties are interested in a broad spending deal that would avoid the blunt budget cuts of sequestration. A clean debt ceiling increase one with no policy strings or cuts attached might be a problem for a GOP majority filled with fiscal conservatives.

There is also an emerging consensus among Hill leaders that the debt ceiling currently $20 trillion should be raised by an amount large enough to preclude another vote for several years. This would make it politically dicey for fiscal conservatives, yet it would be easier for most rank-and-file lawmakers to just have one vote this Congress.

Id like to see that done earlier, said Senate Majority Whip John Cornyn of Texas when asked about lifting the debt ceiling in September. Im hoping there will be a negotiation on spending caps. Maybe it will be part of that.

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On Monday, Republican Senate staffers were provided new schedule guidance laying out that the preferred debt deadline is before the August break.

In the House, GOP leaders have not formally settled on a plan to raise the debt ceiling, according to multiple sources. The topic, which is toxic for many in the more right-leaning chamber, is expected to be discussed Wednesday morning during a GOP Conference meeting on the budget and appropriations process.

Conservatives in the House Freedom Caucus have called for spending cuts to accompany any increase in the nations borrowing limit, and more than a few GOP leadership allies have bristled at the idea of doing a clean debt ceiling increase, as Democrats have demanded in previous years.

But GOP leaders in the House are eyeing whats feasible in the chamber across Capitol Hill. And since Senate Democrats will never go for spending cuts, the idea will likely remain a far-off hard-liner dream.

There may be some rank-and-file support among House Republicans to piece together a bipartisan budget deal to raise spending caps, as is being discussed in the Senate. More than 141 defense-minded House Republicans signed a letter in early May asking GOP leaders to raise the cap on the Pentagon budget.

Senate Democrats would be loath to support a military boost without increases for domestic programs as well. Some GOP defense hawks may be willing to negotiate to do both. Its unclear, however, whether they would want to link that to a debt ceiling vote.

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Senate GOP plans July debt ceiling vote - Politico

The House Budget Committee may delay the release of its fiscal 2018 budget proposal until the last week of June or after the July 4threcess as Republicans seek to boost defense spending above the White Houses proposed $54 billion increase in defense funds, The Hill reported Monday.

Rep. Tom Cole (R-Oklahoma), a member of the House Budget Committee, said he forecasts that the budget resolution will be higher than the administrations budget request.

The Trump administration proposed to cut nondefense discretionary spending by $54 billion in order to fund increases to the defense budget for fiscal 2018.

House Freedom Caucus members consider supporting increases to the defense budget by another $37 billion and higher nondefense spending levels without proposing additional budget reductions elsewhere.

Conservatives are willing to entertain the idea of voting for higher spending levels on discretionary spending if we can get the right kind of reconciliation instructions, said Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio), a member of the Freedom Caucus.

The Hill reported such reconciliation instructions would call for congressional panels to attain certain budget cuts.

House Republicans are expected to negotiate a strategy for the budget resolution on its upcoming meeting Wednesday, the report added.

Read the original:

Report: House Panel May Delay Fiscal 2018 Budget Resolution as Republicans Eye Higher Defense Spending - ExecutiveGov

(TRENTON, NJ) --The New Jersey State Council on the Arts will convene its Fiscal Year 2018 Annual Meeting onTuesday, July 25thin the New Jersey State Museum Auditorium from 10:00am to 12:00pm. The meeting will include the election of Council officers and voting on the grants for Fiscal Year 2018. All are invited to attend a reception in the Museum's Riverview Court Gallery immediately following the conclusion of the meeting. Special thanks to the New Jersey State Museum for generously co-hosting the reception. The meeting and reception are free and open to the public.

Those unable to attend the meeting may call the Council office at(609) 292-6130after1:30 PMonJuly 25thto learn the results of the meeting. All grant awards will be posted on the Council's website,www.artscouncil.nj.govby3:00pm.

The New Jersey State Council on the Arts is committed to making all of its programs available to all people. For accessibility services please call(609) 984-7023(NJ Relay711) or emailDonald.Ehman@sos.nj.govtwo weeks prior to the event.

The New Jersey State Museum Auditorium is located at 205 West State Street in Trenton, New Jersey.

The New Jersey State Council on the Arts, created in 1966, is a division of the NJ Department of State. The Council was established to encourage and foster public interest in the arts; enlarge public and private resources devoted to the arts; promote freedom of expression in the arts; and facilitate the inclusion of art in every public building in New Jersey. The Council receives direct appropriations from the State of New Jersey through a dedicated, renewable Hotel/Motel Occupancy fee, as well as competitive grants from the National Endowment for the Arts. To learn more about the Council, please visitwww.artscouncil.nj.gov.

Originally posted here:

NJ State Council on the Arts To Hold Fiscal Year 2018 Annual Meeting On July 25 - New Jersey Stage

Rank-and-file House Republicans, frustrated by the lack of wins on crucial spending issues, are pushing GOP leaders to get more partisan.

Support is building among GOP members to hold a summer vote on a Republican spending package decorated with GOP goodies, an idea first proposed by House Appropriations Committee cardinal Rep. Tom Graves (R-Ga.). Some House appropriators who like the idea are moving full steam ahead to write the bill, multiple sources said. And supporters argue that while their idea may never pass the more moderate Senate, it will buy the leadership goodwill with the conference while giving Republicans a leg up on spending negotiations with Democrats this fall.

Story Continued Below

But some leaders and appropriators are privately worried about the short window before the August recess and the risk of embarrassment if a GOP spending bill fails to clear the notoriously divided House Republican Conference. The debate will come to a head during a closed-door meeting Wednesday that is likely to highlight early fissures within the House GOP.

I think its vitally important that we as a Republican Conference put our marker down as to what we believe and what we stand for, and lets pass a conservative House Republican funding package, Graves said in an interview. I think the conference is ready and desires to vote on our vision for the Republican Party, and aligning that as best as we can with the administrations priorities.

House Republicans during the Wednesday conference are expected to consider whether to pursue the Graves plan. House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) will lay out several alternatives, including a security bus a smaller, national security GOP appropriations package that would boost the military.

Nobody appears to want to make a firm decision. GOP leaders on Wednesday will encourage the conference to plot a path forward. Appropriators, meanwhile, say theyre waiting for guidance from leadership.

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Its an awkward situation because the proposal even pits appropriators against appropriators. While several appropriators including top cardinals with subcommittee gavels back the idea, others privately are grumbling and hoping leadership will pan it altogether.

Republican House members whove campaigned on fiscal responsibility their entire careers hoped theyd finally get to pass more GOP spending priorities now that their party controls the White House and Congress. But theyre increasingly resigned that nothing has really changed since Senate rules require eight Democrats to do virtually anything.

Enter Graves, the financial services subcommittee chairman close to GOP leaders. He pitched his fellow appropriators and McCarthy on the idea of passing a GOP spending package about six weeks ago even if it doesnt pass the Senate. And he presented the proposal to members a few weeks ago, arguing it allows Republicans to show constituents what they would support if they could pass something without Democrats.

Many Republicans, frustrated by the lack of input theyve had on appropriations bills that have been stalled in recent years, applauded. They envision something like ex-Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) put on the floor in early 2011, when Republicans first seized the majority and, over the course of several days, voted on hundreds of amendments to a massive GOP spending package.

Were 100 percent behind the Graves idea, said Republican Study Committee Chairman Mark Walker (R-N.C.), whose group has endorsed the plan. If we get past August, and then were in September, and then there is some kind of rollout and in 24 hours youve got to vote on something that youre still trying to process and read, its not going to be a good thing.

Walker said conservatives are willing to deal with higher spending levels if they can offer amendments with their own priorities.

I think its a great idea! said Rep. Trent Franks of Arizona, a Freedom Caucus member. It would help focus the country.

But some in leadership and on Appropriations are concerned about time particularly after lawmakers lost much of last week after Wednesdays congressional baseball practice shooting.

If appropriators work every day from now until the end of the July, they may be able to finish the package. It would likely have to go straight to the floor, probably the last week before the August recess, in whats bound to be a tedious process for staff who will work nonstop to get hundreds of amendments lined up and ready just as they did in 2011.

Theres also concern about an already packed July calendar. The House will also have to pass a potentially more-moderate Obamacare replacement and probably raise the debt ceiling two controversial votes that will be a heavy lift for GOP leaders.

Even if Republicans could finish the bill and find time to vote, leadership is also concerned about doing all the leg work only to find that it cant pass. They want rank-and-file Republicans to commit to supporting their GOP legislation even if some of their prized amendments go down.

Some also expect moderates to balk at taking tough votes for nothing, given the bill is essentially a public relations statement and will have no chance of becoming law. Controversial amendments dealing with government contractors and hiring practices for gay applicants, or the Confederate flag, are likely to surface votes Republicans typically try to avoid.

Still, many in the conference say its time for change. And they want to show the GOP base theyre trying.

The last election is not far from our memory, and we cannot ignore what people all across this country said. Go clean things up, get spending under control, rebuild our military, Graves said. Weve got a chance to show the American people what that is, and this is our one opportunity to do that.

John Bresnahan contributed to this report.

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Frustrated House members push GOP leaders for partisan spending package - Politico