Topic: American Enterprise Institute for Public Policy Research

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Gas prices fact check: Six ideas in Congress, but can they work?

Soaring gas prices have also shown a consistent and significant ability to push members of Congress over the deep end. Here's the experts' take on 6 ideas floating through Congress.
Federal budget mess: Six ways to fix it

Surprise! It turns out America's problem with runaway budget deficits is solvable, after all. That, at least, is the opinion of some prominent think thanks that have been offering ready-made blueprints.
Can the US military help Libyan rebels oust Muammar Qaddafi? Four options.

As violence in Libya increases, US officials have promised that the administration is exploring “all possible options for action” against Libyan leader Muammar Qaddafi. But what are steps the US military could take to aid rebels, and how feasible are they?
Persistent achievement gap vexes education reformers: Six takeaways

No education issue has received more attention in recent years – but with less apparent progress – than the achievement gaps for minority and low-income students. The Center on Education Policy released a study Tuesday that looks at trends in all 50 states. Read our list of a few of the study’s major findings.

All Content

US, 18 other nations, wrap up Eager Lion military exercise in Jordan

The sprawling Eager Lion military exercise was tied by some news outlets to the war in Syria. Though that was incorrect, the US is looking to deepen its military engagement with the region.
Student loans: Do Republicans really think program is socialist?

President Obama said Friday that Republicans in Congress are calling federal student loans socialism. Republicans reject the charge. But the issue is highlighting political differences.
Buffett Rule: Could it backfire on Democrats?

Democrats are campaigning for the Buffett Rule, which would ensure millionaires pay federal taxes at a higher tax rate. But polls show 'fairness' doesn't motivate key independent voters.
Israel is not the threat, Mr. Obama. Iran is.

The Obama administration appears to be conducting a campaign of leaks to the media to stop Israel from attacking Tehran's nuclear program. It seems Obama fears an Israeli military strike more than he fears Iran achieving nuclear-weapons capability.
Ryan budget, passed in House, becomes political weapon for both sides

Ryan budget is dead on arrival in the Senate, but is expected to play strong in 2012 races. Democrats say it wrecks Medicare, Republicans say they are willing to make tough decisions.
Gas prices fact check: Six ideas in Congress, but can they work?

Soaring gas prices have also shown a consistent and significant ability to push members of Congress over the deep end. Here's the experts' take on 6 ideas floating through Congress.
Backchannels
The Iran war party and the war skeptics

In one corner, we have the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the heads of the US and Israeli intelligence communities, and the Pentagon. In the other corner, we have TV pundits and politicians.
Global News Blog
Good Reads: China's next leader comes to Washington, as US enters a funk

Lots of talk of America's decline but few suggested solutions as Chinese vice president Xi Jinping visits Washington this week.
How an Obama shift helps unstable regimes get nuclear weapons

In past nuclear cooperation agreements, the US has required nations to commit to not enriching uranium and opening nuclear sites to inspections. The Obama administration has just done away with the requirement. Congress needs oversight to combat this possibility of nuclear proliferation.
CPAC recap: As much talk about big-hatted Pilgrims as the economy

CPAC attendees Thursday heard from Rep. Michele Bachmann, Sen. Mitch McConnell, and Gov. Rick Perry. But the economy wasn't a major CPAC theme.
No Child Left Behind loses bite as Obama issues waivers

Many educators applaud the waivers from some parts of No Child Left Behind, saying the education-reform law has a one-size-fits-all approach. Others worry that minorities could suffer.
Russian protests – echoes of US civil rights movement

To see the December protests in Russia as primarily a political wave is to miss a more fundamental leaven at work in Russian society: a moral awakening akin to the American civil rights movement. An early test is Saturday, when a massive protest in Moscow is planned.
August surprise? Iran could have fuel for bomb before US election, study says.

Iran could have 85 kg of low-enriched uranium by June, the report says. If Iran is willing to take a 'break-out' step, that quantity could be converted into enough weapons-grade uranium to fuel a nuclear bomb by late August.
Gov. Scott Walker vs. unions: Wisconsin set to count recall petitions (+video)

Petitions calling for the recall of Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker, who emerged last year as the national face of anti-union legislation, are due Tuesday. Signature-counting is set to begin this week.
Latin America Monitor
Hezbollah in Latin America: an over-hyped threat?

The indictment of a Lebanese man accused of running a money-laundering and drug-trafficking ring for Hezbollah in Colombia has sparked fresh concerns about the Islamic militia group's connections to organized crime in Latin America.
Court dismisses fears of 'creeping Sharia law' that led to Oklahoma ban (+video)

The Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals upheld an injunction against an Oklahoma referendum banning the use of Islamic Sharia law in courts and said there's no evidence of such influence on US courts.
War with Iran? Consult history.

It sounds like war drums. Tehran says it will execute an alleged US spy and threatens to block the Strait of Hormuz. GOP presidential candidates talk of regime change and military strikes, and Obama is not cowed by Iran. But wars do not often turn out as envisioned.
New Pentagon strategy recasts military in Obama's image (VIDEO)

The new Pentagon strategy unveiled Thursday is aimed at trimming defense spending. But Obama took the opportunity to overhaul the military's priorities so they match his own.
How can it be? Student financial aid fuels increase in college tuition. (+Video)

When federal (and state) financial aid programs make money available to well-off students, it is in a college's interest to capture that aid and use it to 'improve' the college, thus driving up costs and tuition. Aid must be restructured so that more of it goes to needy students.
Donald Marron
The devolution of America's think tanks

Over the past 50 years, America's poltical think tanks have shifted towards political combat and away from nonpartisan research.
Why John Boehner can still win the tax-cut showdown

House Speaker John Boehner stunned Senate Democrats and Republicans when he said the House would vote down their two-month deal on the payroll tax cut and other measures.
Obama hails end of Iraq war, but is it a victory for Iran? (VIDEO)

President Obama and Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki met in Washington Monday to mark the approaching end of the Iraq war. But Iran is happy to see US troops go and will bear watching.
Newt Gingrich in the media crosshairs

Newt Gingrich's rise in the polls is followed by the inevitable closer look at his record. Can Newt Gingrich survive the scrutiny?
GOP debate: Will Newt Gingrich widen lead over Mitt Romney?

Newt Gingrich leads the GOP presidential candidate race, say polls. Will the gap between Gingrich and Mitt Romney widen during tonight's CNN GOP debate over Iran, Pakistan, and other foreign policy issues?
Terrorism & Security
Russia blasts latest sanctions against Iran nuclear program

The latest sanctions against the Iran nuclear program target its oil and petrochemical industries. The US and France are also threatening more devastating measures against Iran's banks.