Backgrounder posted August 25, 1999 by Bryan Johnson
The New Space Race: Challenges for U.S. National Security and Free Enterprise
Thirty years ago, when Apollo 11
astronauts Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin stepped on the moon, they
broke the tethers binding mankind's feet to Earth and lofted the
nation's aspirations and energies into space. As the nation
celebrates the 30th anniversary of the lunar landing, which
occurred less than a decade after…
Backgrounder posted February 19, 1999 by Adam Thierer, Bryan Johnson
Why Congress Must Fix the Satellite Home Viewer Act
Congress is
scheduled to consider the Satellite Television Act of 1999 (S.
303), legislation that will help decide the future of one of
America's most competitive and technologically important
industries: satellite television broadcasting.
The
satellite industry includes many services, from delivering cellular
phone service and television broadcasting to sophisticated imagery
and sensory satellites…
Executive Summary posted February 19, 1999 by Adam Thierer, Bryan Johnson
Executive Summary: Why Congress Must Fix the Satellite Home Viewer Act
The satellite industry is one of the fastest growing and most
important high-technology sectors of today's U.S. economy. It
provides, among other things, communications, television, cable,
and sophisticated imagery and sensory satellites for U.S.
intelligence-gathering operations. Over the past decade, home
satellite subscriptions for television service have grown
dramatically. Five years ago, for example, there were…
Executive Memorandum posted February 15, 1999 by Bryan Johnson, Brett Schaefer
Clinton's Backdoor Foreign Aid Increase
On February 1, 1999, in his fiscal year (FY) 2000
budget proposal, President Bill Clinton submitted a supplemental
appropriations request for FY 1999. He seeks $1.9 billion in
foreign aid in support of the October 1998 Israeli-Palestinian
agreement signed at Wye River, Maryland, as well as funds for
several small requests, such as roughly…
Backgrounder posted November 25, 1998 by Bryan Johnson, Brett Schaefer
IMF Reform? Setting the Record Straight
Congress has been pressured by the International
Monetary Fund (IMF), the Clinton Administration, and various
domestic interests since January 1997 to provide the IMF with
additional funds. It resisted the pressure to rubber-stamp these
requests and chose instead to conduct an informative debate on many
IMF-related issues before finally approving $17.9 billion in
additional funds…
Backgrounder posted July 16, 1998 by Bryan Johnson, Brett Schaefer
A Checklist for IMF Reform
The House of Representatives soon is likely to
consider the Clinton Administration's request for $17.9 billion in
additional funding for the International Monetary Fund
(IMF).2 The Senate approved this
request on March 26, 1998; and even though it expressed support for
requiring some reform by the IMF in return for the new
appropriation,…
Backgrounder posted May 11, 1998 by Bryan Johnson, Brett Schaefer
Agricultural Exports and The IMF: Separating Myth From Reality
The
Clinton Administration is pressuring Congress to appropriate an
additional $18 billion in funding for the International Monetary
Fund (IMF). Supporters of this increase believe that the IMF is a
necessary tool to stabilize markets, establish strong and stable
currencies, solve the recent Asian financial crisis, and open
foreign markets to trade. However,…
Executive Memorandum posted April 27, 1998 by Bryan Johnson, Brett Schaefer
Clinton's Foreign Assistance Budget: Over the Top and Down the Drain
The
Clinton Administration is asking Congress to increase bilateral
economic and development assistance in fiscal year (FY) 1999 by
$531 million--almost 6.4 percent more for a program that
historically has been ineffective. The Administration's request is
unjustified. Numerous studies of the economies of countries that
received U.S. economic aid for the past 35…
Backgrounder posted February 12, 1998 by Bryan Johnson, Brett Schaefer
Congress Should Give No More Funds to the IMF
President Clinton is gearing up for a battle with Congress over
increased United States funding for the International Monetary Fund
(IMF). The IMF-led $118 billion bailout of Asian economies and IMF
demands for substantial funding increases have prompted Congress to
question both the efficacy of financial bailouts and the relevance
of the Fund in today's…