2012 Policy Briefs
RSC: The President's Hurricane Sandy Disaster Aid Request (12/14/12)
The request totals $60.4 billion, including $12.97 billion in mitigation projects to “reduce the risk from future disasters.” The administration has proposed no offset for this new federal spending.
RSC: 112th Congress Voter ID Legislation and Related Examples (11/14/12)
This RSC Policy Brief features a running list of examples of voter fraud reported in the media. It also highlights congressional legislative proposals introduced to increase the integrity of elections nationwide.
RSC: The U.S. Corporate Income Tax Rate in Perspective (10/10/12)
This RSC Policy Brief analyzes the U.S. corporate tax rate.
RSC: $15 Trillion-Plus Later, Economists Project Poverty Rate to Return to Levels at Outset of the Great Society (8/28/12)
Some specifics of the federal government’s failure to meet the objectives of the authors of the welfare state, and conservative welfare reform solutions.
RSC: The Supreme Court's Obamacare Decision (8/1/2012)
Many legal, practical, and political questions remain as a result of this remarkable decision. this Policy Brief summarizes the decision and also examines some of these unresolved matters.
RSC: Congress's Role and Responsibility in Determining the Constitutionality of Legislation (6/27/2012)
All three branches of the federal government—Legislative, Executive, and Judicial—have a responsibility to examine the constitutionality of laws. This Policy Brief will focus upon the role that the Legislative branch has in assessing the constitutionality of laws it passes.
RSC: Members' Health Care Initiatives in the 112th Congress (6/25/12)
In anticipation of the Supreme court's ruling on the constitutionality of Obamacare, this brief outlines many RSC members' health care legislation from this Congress.
RSC: Spending Prioritization and the Debt Limit (6/01/12)
Proponents of raising the debt ceiling (without meaningful spending reforms attached) may inaccurately argue that the most crucial spending priorities would be the first obligations to be threatened. Many RSC Members have proposed legislation to explicitly require the most urgent spending priorities to be paid first.
RSC: Limiting Aid to Pakistan (5/29/12)
While the 2013 National Defense Authorization Act is a good start to limit Pakistan's funding contingent on reopening supply routes and supporting counter-terrorism operations against Al Qaeda, some conservatives may believe that more should be done in light of Pakistan's past actions.
RSC: Over 124 Reporting Requirements in 2013 National Defense Authorization Act (5/16/12)
These reporting requirements build from year to year, as some of these reports never sunset and continue on perpetually. It can be argued that these massive reporting requirements have multiple perverse effects.
RSC: Tax Facts (4/13/12)
With Tax Day looming, this information might be useful in conveying the growing burden of complying with the federal tax code.
RSC: Impending Tax Increases (4/13/12)
Many tax increases will soon automatically occur. Here is an abbreviated list of taxes changes that will automatically rise occur unless the President and Congress act soon prevent them.
RSC: Ex-Im Bank in the News (4/10/12)
As discussion on whether to reauthorize the Export Import Bank (Ex-Im) continues in Congress, more and more news stories and op-eds have surfaced that question whether it is the federal government’s role to provide financing in an economy based largely on free enterprise.
RSC Policy Brief: How the Welfare State Creates Implicit Marginal Tax Rates in Excess of 100% on Working Families (2/28/12)
Many individuals, especially lower-income and working-class families, face not just higher taxes but also less government benefits for each dollar earned. When both: 1) higher taxes and 2) foregone government benefits are accounted for from an extra dollar earned, you get the implicit marginal tax rate.
RSC Policy Brief: The President’s FY 2013 Budget (2/13/12)
Today, the President submitted his budget request for FY 2012-2022, which proposes $8.011 trillion of new deficit spending. The following is intended to put the deficit, debt, spending, and tax figures in perspective.
RSC Resource Guide: The Current Status of Re-Authorization of "No Child Left Behind" (2/10/2012)
This RSC guide serves to provides resources on the current status of legislation on renewal of "No Child Left Behind."
RSC Policy Brief: Concerns with the Ex-Im Bank (2/08/2012)
The mission of the Export-Import Bank (“Ex-Im”), an independent federal agency, is to support export financing of U.S. goods and services. The Bank’s main products are direct loans, loan guarantees, working capital guarantees, and export credit insurance. By law, the Bank is intended only to fill gaps in commercially available financing for U.S. exports by serving as a “lender of last resort,” and not competing with private lenders.
RSC One-Pager: January 2012 CBO Budget Outlook (2/02/12)
The table shows CBO’s projections of ten-year deficits/surpluses in January of 2007 (what a Democrat Congress inherited from a Republican Congress), January of 2011 (what a Republican House inherited from the Democrat Congress), and January 2012 (one year into the current Congress).
RSC Policy Brief: A Short History of Federal Deficits and Surpluses (1/23/2012)
The federal government has run a budget deficit in 47 out of the last 52 years. The FY 2009, 2010, and 2011 deficits came in at $1.4 trillion, $1.3 trillion, and $1.3 trillion respectively. As of September 30, 2012, the five largest deficits in U.S. history will have occurred in the last five years. In the past four years, the national debt has grown as follows.
RSC Updated Analysis of Constitutional Authority Statements for 2011 (1/5/2012)
On January 5, 2011, the House adopted a new rule requiring that each bill or joint resolution introduced be accompanied by a Constitutional Authority Statement. RSC Staffers have compiled and analyzed the Statements for every bill and joint resolution introduced this Congress (3865 statements as of January 5, 2012, one year after the rule was originally established).
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