Senate appropriators propose to repeal Hyde, add tens of billions to Defense budget

Senate appropriators proposed last week an end to a four-decade-old provision that restricts the government from funding abortions and would expand reproductive care for military service members and federal employees. The proposal is part of a set of bills to fund the government through fiscal 2023, which includes $ 850 billion for national security when taking into account the Defense appropriations bill, military construction spending and some military-related Energy Department funds. That number is well over the Biden administration’s $ 813 billion request for national security and outpaces the House…

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Abortion Is Literally on the Ballot in Kansas

OLATHE, Kansas—It’s 102 degrees, and the rally to save abortion rights has drawn a crowd of exactly one. Cassie Woolworth, the head of a local Democratic women’s club, has commandeered as her base of operations a concrete barricade meant to deter would-be terrorists outside the Johnson County courthouse. She unfurls a banner that says Trust Women alongside an image of Rosie the Riveter and hangs it between a trash can and a street sign. In between spritzes of water from a spray fan, she lays out bumper stickers and yard…

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Pelosi Defies China’s Bluster, Heralds ‘Taiwan’s Vibrant Democracy’

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi defied the Communist Chinese government Tuesday by touching down in Taiwan for a visit. The California Democrat continued to win praise from Republican lawmakers, but an ambiguous response at best from the Biden administration, which has been skeptical of the trip.  Pelosi issued a statement after her arrival saying that the visit “honors America’s unwavering commitment to supporting Taiwan’s vibrant democracy.” Pelosi is the highest-ranking U.S. official to visit Taiwan since then-House Speaker Newt Gingrich, R-Ga., did it in 1997.  Gingrich is among Republicans who had…

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New bill would abolish MSPB, create ‘at-will’ federal employees

Republican lawmakers are once again making a push that would allow the government to fire bureaucrats more easily. For the third time since 2016, members of the House introduced a bill to make all federal employees “at-will” workers. That means agencies would be able to more quickly remove employees for underperforming or behaving in a manner that goes against federal rules. “My bill would make all federal bureaucrats at-will employees — just like private sector workers — and claw back the inordinate protections some federal employees grossly abuse while helping…

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Is the Labor Market Really as Good as the Administration Says?

Between out-of-control inflation, ongoing supply-chain struggles, the crisis at the southern border, foreign policy concerns, exploding energy prices, rising crime, and a high likelihood that the country is either already or soon will be experiencing stagflation (an inflationary recession), it’s no wonder that Democrats and the Biden administration are talking up the strong labor market. A recent tweet on the Democrats’ official Twitter page stated, “Under Joe Biden, the private sector has recovered all of the jobs lost during the pandemic—and added jobs on top of that.” That statement is…

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