Heritage Foundation

Founded in 1973, The Heritage Foundation is a New Right think tank. Its stated mission is to formulate and promote conservative public policies based on the principles of "free enterprise, limited government, individual freedom, traditional American values, and a strong national defense." It is widely considered one of the world's most influential public policy research institutes. The Foundation wields considerable influence in Washington, and enjoyed particular prominence during the Reagan administration. Its initial funding was provided by Joseph Coors, of the Coors beer empire, and Richard Mellon Scaife, heir of the Mellon industrial and banking fortune. The Foundation maintains strong ties with the London Institute of Economic Affairs and the Mont Pelerin Society.

History

The Heritage Foundation concerns itself with many issues in about 20 different subject areas, everything from missile defense to public administration. It regularly publishes comprehensive articles, papers, and journals expressing its strong neo-conservative opinions in these subject areas. While the Foundation has contributed many ideas to contemporary public policy, it is best known for the ideas put forth by its foreign policy analysts in the 1980s and early 1990s to provide military and other support to anti-communist resistance movements around the world. The Foundation pushed for this strategy, known as the Reagan doctrine, in Afghanistan, Angola, Cambodia, Nicaragua and other nations around the world.

The Foundation worked closely with leading anti-communist movements, including the Nicaraguan contras and Jonas Savimbi's Unita movement in Angola to bring military, economic and political pressure on Soviet-aligned regimes. Throughout the late 1980s and early 1990s, the Foundation's support for the Nicaraguan contras and Angola's Savimbi proved extremely influential with the United States government, including the Central Intelligence Agency, the Defense Intelligence Agency, the National Security Council and other governmental agencies. The Heritage Foundation presented its case for armed support for these movements, and United States support soon followed. The Foundation ultimately succeeded in its efforts, with the United States winning both covert and overt "wars of liberation" against Soviet-aligned states around the world. Critics argued that this endeavor led to undue bloodshed in the Third World and damaged American relations with the former Soviet Union. Supporters have argued that the cost imposed on Moscow by such efforts was huge, leading to the beginning of the end for the imperial Soviet empire. Whatever the truth, it was the first prominent example of The Heritage Foundation's ability to spark global debate and fundamentally alter the course of American policy.

But Heritage Foundation foreign policy analysts did not just champion the Reagan Doctrine in Washington. Some were key actors in these conflicts, visiting the front lines to provide political and military guidance to Savimbi and the contra leadership. They also provided bold and inflammatory predictions that these conflicts were tugging on the very soul of global communism and that these Soviet-supported regimes and the Soviet Union itself were on the brink of collapse. This prediction, of course, looks surprisingly accurate in retrospect, but ignores the many other contributing factors to the collapse of communism. The Foundation also leaped to the defense of Ronald Reagan's description of the former Soviet Union as an "evil empire," a description that generated wide global rebuke as potentially inviting nuclear conflict and, at the very least, further poisoning East-West relations. But with strong support by Heritage and other influential conservatives, Reagan stood by the statement, refusing to retract it until the Soviet Union began to crumble.

In an attempt to build on its foreign policy influence, the Foundation also engages in domestic and social policy issues, but its effort in these two areas has never quite matched the influence it wielded (in the late 1980s and early 1990s) in altering the debate over American foreign policy. Yet the Foundation continues to weigh in on these topics with varying levels of success. One of its undeniable successes has been serving as a forum for many of the nation's leading neo-conservative activists and intellectuals.

The following comments by former Republican Majority Leader Dick Armey, published in the summer 1994 issue of the Heritage Foundation's Policy Review, exemplify the Heritage philosophy:

"Liberation is at hand.... A paradigm-shattering revolution has just taken place. In the signal events of the 1980s - from the collapse of communism to the Reagan economic boom to the rise of the computer - the idea of economic freedom has been overwhelmingly vindicated. The intellectual foundation of statism has turned to dust. This revolution has been so sudden and sweeping that few in Washington have yet grasped its full meaning.... But when the true significance of the 1980s freedom revolution sinks in, politics, culture - indeed, the entire human outlook - will change.... Once this shift takes place - by 1996, I predict - we will be able to advance a true Hayekian agenda, including.... radical spending cuts, the end of the public school monopoly, a free market health-care system, and the elimination of the family-destroying welfare dole. Unlike 1944, history is now on the side of freedom."

The informational web site www.policyexperts.org is a "service of The Heritage Foundation," listing many of the world's leading conservative-leaning public policy experts. Additionally, for many years, its scholarly, quarterly publication, Policy Review, was widely viewed as one of the world's leading conservative public policy journals.

The Heritage Foundation has been home to some of the nation's most influential neo-conservative voices, especially in the late 1980s and early 1990s. The Foundation has since lost some of its luster, as some of its leading voices have graduated to other influential government and non-government careers. Still, the Foundation remains a conservative voice in Washington and around the world.

Policy stances

Supporting nuclear power

An April 2009 memo by Heritage fellow Jack Spencer criticized the American Clean Energy and Security Act of 2009, drafted by Representatives Ed Markey and Henry Waxman, for containing "virtually no mention of nuclear power." Spencer wrote, "If reducing carbon dioxide and other emissions, creating jobs, and promoting domestic energy sources were truly the objective, then nuclear energy should be central to the legislation." He went on to suggest how federal energy legislation should encourage nuclear power, including by instituting "a fast-track program for granting construction/operation permits for certain new plants" and allowing "nuclear waste producers to finance and manage their own spent nuclear fuel however they see fit so long as public health and safety is protected."

Against the European Union

In March of 2012, Heritage fellows Nile Gardiner and Ted Bromund released an "issue brief" entitled "Five conservative principles that should guide US policy on Europe" where they claim that "a politically unified Europe is not in the interest of the United States." In the brief they argue that the U.S. government should not back further integration in the European Union, especially in the areas of defense and foreign policy. In an interview with the EUobserver, Bromund stated that US officials should not have any direct dealings with EU officials, only with member states He even went as far as to dismiss High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Catherine Ashton, as "a non-entity who is not worthy of respect."

Fighting Immigration Reform

As a response to the earned citizenship provisions of the comprehensive immigration reform bill under debate in the U.S. Senate as of May 2013, Robert Rector, a Heritage research fellow, and Jason Richwine, policy analyst, released a special report on immigration entitled "The Fiscal Cost of Unlawful Immigrants and Amnesty to the U.S. Taxpayer". The co-authors estimated that the cost of offering a pathway to citizenship for 11 million undocumented immigrants (part of a plan by a bipartisan group of senators to overhaul the immigration system), would create a “lifetime fiscal deficit” for the government of $6.3 trillion. This cost estimate is based on several big assumptions (that the majority of immigrants formerly in the country illegally will eventually use government programs for low-income Americans, for example) and was rejected by many conservatives. The report was highly criticized by both the left and the right, with prominent conservatives speaking out against it. Haley Barbour, a Republican leader and former governor of Mississippi, called the report a "political document" and stated, "This gigantic cost figure that the Heritage Foundation puts out is actually the cost over 50 years. If you put the 50-year cost of anything in front of the public, it is going to be a huge number." Even anti-tax activist Grover Norquist denounced the study, claiming the cost estimate was "wildly overblown." Norquist's Americans for Tax Reform spoke out against the report, aruging that the underlying analysis only focused on costs while ignoring all the benefits of the immigration bill.

The study was further discredited when the Washington Post brought to light that co-author, Jason Richwine, had argued in his Harvard doctoral thesis, "IQ and Immigration Policy," that Hispanic immigrants have lower IQ's than white Americans and that the U.S. would ameliorate problems by only selecting high-IQ immigrants. Amid the controversy, Richwine, resigned from the Heritage Foundation. In the wake of Richwine's resignation and continued scrutiny from Republicans and conservative groups, Heritage has gone into full "damage-control" and is considering "hiring a high-profile public relations firm to help deal with the fallout of the report."

Despite criticism, former Sen. Jim DeMint (R – S.C.) is standing by the controversial study saying, "There’s no doubt that these numbers are real.”

Political Connections

Campaign Contributions

• Thomas A. Saunders, III (Chairman of the Board of Trustees)
  • $26,700 Republican National Committee
  • $4,700 Republican Party of Virginia, Inc
  • $2,400 Bachman for Congress 2010
  • $1,100 Crawford for Congress 2010
  • $1,100 Bucshon for Congress 2010
  • $50,000 Founders Joint Candidate Committee
• Phillip Truluck (Executive Vice President and Trustee)
  • $500 Bachmann for Congress 2010
  • $500 McCain-Palin Victory

Funding

The Heritage Foundation is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organisation. In its annual report it states that "we rely on the financial contributions of the general public: individuals, foundations and corporations. We accept no government funds and perform no contract work."

Between 2001 and 2010, the Foundation received $3.38 million from the conservative Bradley Foundation.

With a long history of receiving large donations from overseas, Heritage continued to rake in a minimum of several hundred thousand dollars from Taiwan and South Korea each year through the 1990s, according to Fairness & Accuracy in Reporting. In the autumn of 1988, the South Korean National Assembly uncovered a document revealing that Korean intelligence gave $2.2 million to the Heritage Foundation on the sly during the early 1980s. Heritage officials "categorically deny" the accusation. Heritage's latest annual report does acknowledge a $400,000 grant from the Korean conglomerate Samsung. Another donor, the Korea Foundation -- which conduits money from the South Korean government -- gave Heritage almost $1 million from 1993 to 1996.

There was also a connection between Heritage and the Rev. Sun Myung Moon (founder of the "Moonies" as well as of the Washington Times). This first appeared in a 1975 congressional investigation on the Korean Central Intelligence Agency (KCIA) activities in the US. The report noted, "In 1975, Ed Feulner ... was introduced to KCIA station chief Kim Yung Hwan by Neil Salonen and Dan Feffernan of the Freedom Leadership foundation". Salonen was head of Sun Myung Moon's Unification Church in the United States. The Freedom Leadership Foundation (FLF), a political arm of Moon's Unification network, was linked to the World Anti-Communist League. In the early 1980s, the KCIA began making donations to Heritage Foundation. In turn, Heritage established an Asian Studies Center.

Core Financials

2011

• Total Revenue: $72,170,983
• Total Expenses: $80,033,828
• Net Assets: $142,231,547

2010

• Total Revenue: $78,253,864
• Total Expenses: $80,378,250
• Net Assets: $164,819,678

2009

• Total Revenue: $69,230,717
• Total Expenses: $69,042,685
• Net Assets: $156,194,570

2008

• Total Revenue: $70,877,006
• Total Expenses: $64,645,625
• Net Assets: $133,216,138

2007

• Total Revenue: $65,765,247
• Total Expenses: $47,229,280
• Net Assets: $170,719,110

2006

• Revenue: over $25 million from individual contributors and $13.1 million from foundations
• Expenses: $40.5 million

While corporations provided only $1.5 million -- 4% -- of Heritage’s contributions in 2006, they nonetheless have significant interest in the foundation's policy output. These include defense contractors Boeing and Lockheed Martin, finance and insurance companies such as Allstate Insurance, Mortgage Insurance Companies of America, and American International Group (AIG), auto company Honda, tobacco company Altria Group (Philip Morris), drug and medical companies Johnson & Johnson, GlaxoSmithKline, Novartis, and Bristol-Myers Squibb Foundation, oil companies ChevronTexaco and Exxon Mobil, software giant Microsoft, and -- chipping in over $100,000 each -- Alticor (Amway), Pfizer, PhRMA, and United Parcel Service (UPS).

Historical Funding

Between 1985 and 2003, Media Transparency reports that the following contributors provided $57,497,537 (unadjusted for inflation) to the Heritage Foundation:

• Lynde and Harry Bradley Foundation
• Scaife Foundations: Sarah Mellon Scaife, Scaife Family, Carthage
• John M. Olin Foundation, Inc.
• Castle Rock Foundation
• JM Foundation
• Claude R. Lambe Charitable Foundation
• Philip M. McKenna Foundation, Inc.
• Charles G. Koch Charitable Foundation
• Roe Foundation
• Rodney Fund
• Ruth and Lovett Peters Foundation
• Orville D. and Ruth A. Merillat Foundation
• Bill and Berniece Grewcock Foundation
• Samuel Roberts Noble Foundation
• William H. Donner Foundation
• Walton Family Foundation
• Armstrong Foundation
• John Templeton Foundation
• William E. Simon Foundation

Right Web says of the Heritage Foundation:

"The foundation received $2. 2 million from the Federation of Korean Industries in the early 1980s. Initially it was believed this donation came from the Korean Central Intelligence Agency (which would make the Heritage Foundation a foreign agent of Korea), but the Federation later stated that the donation came at the encouragement of the KCIA."

"The Heritage Foundation's income has increased every year since 1981. The progression has been: 1981--$7. 1 million; 1982-$8. 6 million; 1983--$10. 6 million; 1984--$10. 7 million; 1985-$11. 6 million; 1986--$14. 0 million; 1987--$14. 3 million; and 1988--$14. 6 million. In 1988, foundations provided 38 percent of Heritage's income, individuals provided 34 percent, and corporations gave 17 percent; the remainder came from investments and sales of materials."

Personnel

As of April 2013:

Board of Trustees

Executive Officers

• Jim DeMint (former U.S. Sen. from SC), President
• Phillip N. Truluck, Executive Vice President and Trustee
• Edwin J. Feulner, Founder, long-time President and Trustee

Trustees

• Thomas A. Saunders III, Chairman
• Richard M. Scaife, Vice Chairman (Publisher and Owner, Tribune-Review Publishing Co., Inc.)
• J. Frederic Rench, Secretary (Board Member, Free Congress Foundation)
• Meg Allen (Director, DRAMLA S.A)
• Douglas F. Allison
• Larry P. Arnn, Ph.D. (President, Hillsdale College)
• The Hon. Belden H. Bell
• Midge Decter
• Edwin J. Feulner
• Steve Forbes (President and Chief Executive Officer, Forbes Inc.)
• Todd W. Herrick
• Jerry Hume (Chairman of the Board, Basic American Inc.)
• Kay Coles James
• The Hon. J. William Middendorf II (Chairman, Middendorf and Company)
• Abby Moffat
• Nersi Nazari, Ph.D. (Founder & President, Pacific General Ventures)
• Robert Pennington
• Anthony J. Saliba (Executive Managing Director, ConvergEx Group)
• William E. Simon, Jr. (Executive Director of William E. Simon & Sons LLC)
• Brian Tracy (Founder, Brian Tracy International)
• Phillip N. Truluck (Heritage Trustee since 2001; Executive Vice President, Heritage Foundation)
• Barb Van Andel-Gaby (CEO, Peter Island Resort)
• Marion Wells

Honorary Trustees

• David R. Brown, M.D, Honorary Chairman and Trustee Emeritus
• Kathryn Davis (Partner, Shelby Cullom Davis & Co., LP)
• The Hon. Frank Shakespeare (former U.S. Ambassador to the Vatican)
• The Right Honourable The Baroness Thatcher, LG, PC, OM, FRS (DECEASED)

Staff

Senior Management

• David S. Addington, Senior Vice President and Deputy Chief Operating Officer
• Stuart M. Butler Distinguished Fellow and Director, Center for Policy Innovation
• James Jay Carafano, Ph.D. Vice President, Foreign and Defense Policy Studies, and Director, The Kathryn and Shelby Cullom Davis Institute for International Studies
• Becky Norton Dunlop, Vice President, External Relations
• John Fogarty, Vice President, Development
• Michael Franc, Vice President, Government Relations
• Mike Gonzalez, Vice President, Communications
• Kim R. Holmes Director, The Kathryn and Shelby Cullom Davis Institute for International Studies and Vice President, Foreign and Defense Policy Studies
• Geoffrey J. Lysaught, Vice President, Strategy and Finance
• Derrick Morgan, Vice President, Domestic & Economic Policy
• Robert Russell, Jr., Counselor to the President
• Matthew Spalding, Vice President, American Studies and Director, B. Kenneth Simon Center for Principles and Politics
• Michael Spiller, Vice President, Information Technology
• Phillip N. Truluck, Executive Vice President and Trustee
• John Von Kannon, Vice President and Senior Counselor
• Genevieve Wood, Vice President, Marketing

Selected Fellows, "Experts," and Other Staff

• Ryan T. Anderson, William E. Simon Fellow in Religion and a Free Society
• Robert B. Bluey, Director, Digital Media, and Director, Center for Media and Public Policy
• Theodore R. Bromund, Ph.D., Senior Research Fellow in Anglo-American Relations
• Peter Brookes, Senior Fellow, National Security Affairs
• Steven P. Bucci, Ph.D., Director, Douglas and Sarah Allison Center for Foreign Policy Studies
• Lindsey Burke, Will Skillman Fellow in Education
• Stuart M. Butler, Ph.D., Distinguished Fellow and Director, Center for Policy Innovation
• Elaine Chao, Distinguished Fellow
• Dean Cheng, Research Fellow, Asian Studies Center
• Ariel Cohen, Ph.D., Senior Research Fellow for Russian and Eurasian Studies and International Energy Policy, The Kathryn and Shelby Cullom Davis Institute for International Studies
• Helle C. Dale, Senior Fellow for Public Diplomacy
• Danielle Doane, Director, Government Studies and David L. Coffey Fellow in Government Studies
• Lee Edwards, Ph.D., Distinguished Fellow in Conservative Thought, B. Kenneth Simon Center for Principles and Politics
• J.D. Foster, Ph.D., Norman B. Ture Senior Fellow in the Economics of Fiscal Policy
• James L. Gattuso, Senior Research Fellow in Regulatory Policy
• Todd F. Gaziano, Director, Center for Legal & Judicial Studies
• Steven Groves, Bernard and Barbara Lomas Senior Research Fellow
• Edmund F. Haislmaier, Senior Research Fellow, Health Policy Studies
• Rea S. Hederman, Jr., Director, Center for Data Analysis and Lazof Family Fellow
• David C. John, Senior Research Fellow in Retirement Security and Financial Institutions
• Diane Katz, Research Fellow in Regulatory Policy
• Christine Kim, Policy Analyst
• Bruce Klingner, Senior Research Fellow, Northeast Asia
• Patrick Louis Knudsen, Grover M. Hermann Senior Fellow in Federal Budgetary Affairs
• David W. Kreutzer, Ph.D., Research Fellow in Energy Economics and Climate Change
• Walter Lohman, Director, Asian Studies Center
• Ken McIntyre, Marilyn and Fred Guardabassi Fellow in Media and Public Policy Studies and Special Projects Editor
• Jennifer A. Marshall, Director, Domestic Policy Studies
• Ambassador Terry Miller, Director, Center for International Trade and Economics and the Mark A. Kolokotrones Fellow in Economic Freedom
• Robert E. Moffit, Ph.D., Senior Fellow
• David B. Muhlhausen, Ph.D., Research Fellow in Empirical Policy Analysis
• Nina Owcharenko, Director, Center for Health Policy Studies and Preston A. Wells, Jr. Fellow
• James Phillips, Senior Research Fellow for Middle Eastern Affairs
• James M. Roberts, Research Fellow For Economic Freedom and Growth
• Paul Rosenzweig, Visiting Fellow
• Brett D. Schaefer, Jay Kingham Fellow in International Regulatory Affairs Visiting Fellow
• James Sherk, Senior Policy Analyst in Labor Economics
• Matthew Spalding, Ph.D. Vice President, American Studies and Director, B. Kenneth Simon Center for Principles and Politics
• Jack Spencer, Senior Research Fellow, Nuclear Energy Policy
• Baker Spring, F.M. Kirby Research Fellow in National Security Policy
• Charles "Cully" Stimson, Manager, National Security Law Program and Senior Legal Fellow
• Bridgett Wagner, Director, Coalition Relations

Former Heritage Foundation Personnel

• Richard V. Allen
• William J. Bennett
• Elaine L. Chao
• Lawrence Di Rita
• William H.G. FitzGerald
• Michael J. Gerson
• Rebecca Hagelin
• John Hillen
• Scott A. Hodge
• Robert Huberty
• Michael Johns
• Antonio Martino
• David M. Mason
• Edwin Meese III, former Ronald Reagan Distinguished Fellow in Public Policy and Chairman, Center for Legal and Judicial Studies
• Stephen Moore
• Ted E. Schelenski
• Terrence Scanlon
• Henry D. Sokolski
• Mark Tapscott, former fellow
• Ronald Utt, former fellow
• Malcolm Wallop, former fellow
• Walter E. Williams, former distinguished scholar

Contact Details

Heritage Foundation
214 Massachusetts Ave NE
Washington DC 20002-4999
Phone: 202.546.4400
Fax: 202.546.8328
Email: info AT heritage.org
Web: http://www.heritage.org/

Resources and Articles

Related SourceWatch Articles

• Policy Review
• The Heritage Foundation's Computer-Assisted Research and Reporting Project
• Townhall.com

Recent Articles by the Heritage Foundation

Commentary

Refusing to Stay Silent: A Millenial Case for Marriage

The media claim we don’t exist. OK, that’s a slight exaggeration. But after all, we’re Millennials, born during the Reagan administration. We’re supposed to be of the generation that is embracing same-sex marriage in droves.

Ryan T. Anderson, Andrew T. Walker, Ryan T. Anderson, Andrew Walker Tue, 21 May 2013 00:00:00 -0400

Physicians Will Flee System Under Affordable Health Care Act

Among President Obama’s broken promises, there is this gem of June 15, 2009: “No matter how we reform health care, we will keep this promise: if you like your doctor, you will be able to keep your doctor. Period.”

Robert E. Moffit, Ph.D., Robert Moffit Sun, 19 May 2013 00:00:00 -0400

Boston Shows Value of Homeland Security Coordination, Training

In the 13 seconds between explosions at the Boston Marathon, dozens of the city's first responders were already on the move. Among them were Thomas Lee and David Carabin, veteran officers in the city's police force.

James Jay Carafano, Ph.D., James Carafano Sun, 19 May 2013 00:00:00 -0400

Moscow’s Message

The shocking video of the arrest of an alleged CIA agent in Moscow this week on espionage charges certainly won’t rank as one of most heralded moments in the vaunted agency’s long history of derring-do.

Peter Brookes, Peter Brookes Thu, 16 May 2013 00:00:00 -0400

Obamacare Isn't About Health Care, It's About Power

Members of the House of Representatives are scheduled to vote Thursday to repeal all of Obamacare. Given that the House voted to repeal the law last year, some commentators and observers have questioned the need for another repeal vote.

Jim DeMint, Jim DeMint Wed, 15 May 2013 00:00:00 -0400

The Recurring Debt-limit Drama

Get ready for a little deja vu from Washington. The federal government is about to hit the debt ceiling, now set at a whopping $16.8 trillion. Yes, again. It’s like the Bill Murray movie “Groundhog Day” — only this time, unfortunately, no one is laughing.

Edwin J. Feulner, Ph.D., Edwin Feulner Tue, 14 May 2013 00:00:00 -0400

Contra Ezra Klein, Unions Spend Plenty on Politics

The Washington Post’s Ezra Klein recently lamented that America has “a deeply unbalanced political system.” He highlighted a chart showing that business owners and employees donate billions to politicians, while unions give only a few tens of millions. True enough, but this does not make labor “totally outgunned,” as he claims. Unions give little directly to politicians because they run their own political machines.

James Sherk, James Sherk Mon, 13 May 2013 00:00:00 -0400

China's Not Working in Mister Rogers' Neighborhood

They pitched their tents in orderly, military fashion. All was quiet on the windswept plain, except for the sharp bark of guard dogs.

James Jay Carafano, Ph.D., James Carafano Sun, 12 May 2013 00:00:00 -0400

Senate Takes a Step Toward the VAT

If the Senate has its way, online sales taxes are coming to a computer near you. The so-called Marketplace Fairness Act sailed through the Senate on Monday by a 69-27 margin. If approved in the House, the act won't just cost you money. It will also put the United States on the road to adopting a European-style national sales tax.

Theodore R. Bromund, Ph.D., Theodore Bromund Fri, 10 May 2013 00:00:00 -0400

DOJ Offers Laughable Excuse for Perez's Using Personal E-Mail for Gov't Business

The Washington Post reports on an — at best — highly misleading letter the Justice Department recently sent in response to an April 10 subpoena from the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee.

Hans A. von Spakovsky, Hans von Spakovsky Thu, 09 May 2013 00:00:00 -0400

A Well-Constructed Missile Test is a Plus

Finally, the moment of truth is at hand. After months of preparation and calculations, after checking and rechecking miles of wiring, thousands of screws and hundreds of computer algorithms, it’s launch time.

Michaela Dodge, Michaela Dodge Wed, 08 May 2013 00:00:00 -0400

What the Heritage Study Does - And Doesn't Do

Critics of a study the Heritage Foundation released yesterday looking at the costs of amnesty for illegal immigrants have done something strange — they’ve attacked us for not doing the study they wanted us to do. It is odd that so many politicians and outsiders feel that they should decide what an educational institution such as Heritage should and shouldn’t study.

Derrick Morgan, Derrick Morgan Tue, 07 May 2013 00:00:00 -0400

Don't Link Terror to Immigration Policy

After 9/11, the words “immigration,” “border security” and “terrorism” were often linked in the same sentence. That was unfortunate.

James Jay Carafano, Ph.D., James Carafano Mon, 06 May 2013 00:00:00 -0400

Opportunity Conservatism

A robust debate is under way about the future of conservatism, and there are plenty of lessons to be learned from the 2012 election and current trends in American politics. Unfortunately, the conversation so far has largely consisted of calls for modifying basic conservative positions, especially on social policy, and for targeting government spending and programs to appeal to particular demographic groups.

Matthew Spalding, Ph.D., Stuart M. Butler, Ph.D., Matthew Spalding, Stuart Butler Mon, 06 May 2013 00:00:00 -0400

What To Do About The Killer Next Door

Build a bomb. Stash it in a backpack. Go to a major sporting event. Drop the bag. Walk away.

James Jay Carafano, Ph.D., James Carafano Sun, 05 May 2013 00:00:00 -0400

Wrong Message on Assimilation

In the aftermath of the Boston bombings, many are asking how someone who came to America at the age of 9, attended some of our best schools, captained the wrestling team, went to the prom and became a citizen could have inflicted such a devastating attack on our society. The emerging evidence suggests that part of the answer is that no one in the past decade taught Dzhokhar Tsarnaev to love America, or at least did a very poor job of it.

Mike Gonzalez, Mike Gonzalez Wed, 01 May 2013 00:00:00 -0400

Suit Filed over DOJ Refusal to Clean Up Voter Rolls

The American Civil Rights Union wants local election officials to clean up voter rolls in Mississippi. Last Friday, the group filed suit against two counties that have more registered voters than the Census says they have voting-eligible citizens.

Hans A. von Spakovsky, Hans von Spakovsky Tue, 30 Apr 2013 00:00:00 -0400

For South Korea, No Respect, No Kaesong

It's time for South Korea to face facts: The Kaesong experiment has failed. The ideologically motivated joint business venture with North Korea known as the Kaesong industrial complex is not economically viable, nor has it achieved any of its political objectives. To protest recent sanctions against it, the North pulled its workers out this month and locked out workers from the South.

Bruce Klingner, Bruce Klingner Tue, 30 Apr 2013 00:00:00 -0400

Delete the Internet Tax

Do you do at least some of your shopping online? If you’re like most Americans, the answer is “yes.” This leads to my next question: Would you like to pay more for the items you buy?

Edwin J. Feulner, Ph.D., Edwin Feulner Tue, 30 Apr 2013 00:00:00 -0400

Pakistan's Troubled Election

With violence against the mainstream political parties escalating, initial Pakistani excitement about the upcoming national elections is beginning to give way to fear that bombs, not ballots, will have the greatest impact on the outcome.

Lisa Curtis, Lisa Curtis Mon, 29 Apr 2013 00:00:00 -0400

Reports

All Three Budget Options Would Damage National Security

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Baker Spring, Baker Spring Thu, 23 May 2013 15:31:00 -0400

Withdrawing U.S. Forces from Europe Weakens America

The U.S. military presence in Europe deters American adversaries, strengthens allies, and protects American interests.

Luke Coffey, Luke Coffey Thu, 23 May 2013 15:02:00 -0400

The Obama Medicare Agenda: Why Seniors Will Fare Worse

Today’s seniors are facing higher Medicare costs. Over the next five years, current law, as amended by the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, already guarantees higher out-of-pocket costs for seniors.

Robert E. Moffit, Ph.D., Alyene Senger, Robert Moffit, Alyene Senger Thu, 23 May 2013 00:00:00 -0400

Farmers and Property Rights: Conservation Compliance Should Not Be Connected to Crop Insurance

Congress should not try to solve potential problems connected to crop insurance through disrespecting the property rights of farmers.

Daren Bakst, Daren Bakst Wed, 22 May 2013 15:12:00 -0400

Top 10 To-Do List for the National Defense Authorization Act

Congress should closely consider policy issues that can improve U.S. security and advance international partnerships.

Michaela Dodge, Michaela Dodge Tue, 21 May 2013 11:15:00 -0400

Social Security Benefits and the Impact of the Chained CPI

Federal benefits, like Social Security benefits, grow with the cost of living to protect the value of benefits from inflation.

Romina Boccia, Rachel Greszler, Romina Boccia, Rachel Greszler Tue, 21 May 2013 00:00:00 -0400

U.N. Arms Trade Treaty: U.S. Decision to Sign Treaty Shows Review Process Was Rushed

The U.S.’s ATT review process appears to have been rushed and in no way fulfills the conditions that the Administration itself set out.

Theodore R. Bromund, Ph.D., Theodore Bromund Mon, 20 May 2013 16:59:00 -0400

Eight Questions for Transportation Secretary Nominee Anthony Foxx

Transportation Secretary nominee Anthony Foxx could break with transportation policies that revolve around special-interest politics.

Emily Goff, Emily Goff Mon, 20 May 2013 09:24:00 -0400

Real Medicare Reform: Why Seniors Will Fare Better

Medicare reform based on a defined-contribution system of financing—commonly referred to as a “premium support” system—could slow or even reverse the growth in seniors’ annual premium costs. Medicare Advantage, a system of private, competing plans, and Medicare Part D are, in effect, premium support programs.

Robert E. Moffit, Ph.D., Alyene Senger, Robert Moffit, Alyene Senger Mon, 20 May 2013 00:00:00 -0400

Congress Must Stop Obama’s Downward Spiral of Missile Defense

In response to threatening statements by the North Korean regime, President Obama announced significant enhancements to U.S. missile defense.

Baker Spring, Baker Spring Mon, 20 May 2013 00:00:00 -0400

U.N. Human Rights Experts: More Transparency and Accountability Required

The U.S. should demand that the HRC adopt an explicit procedure for dismissing and require more transparency from mandate holders.

Brett D. Schaefer, Steven Groves, Brett Schaefer, Steven Groves Thu, 16 May 2013 16:44:00 -0400

The Taxman Cometh: The IRS’s Role in Implementing Obamacare

Both the IRS scandal and Obamacare involve government overreach, massive intrusions, and bureaucrats granted opportunities to abuse their power.

Christopher Jacobs, Christopher Jacobs Thu, 16 May 2013 16:13:00 -0400

Net Tax Increase in Obama’s Budget Over $1 Trillion

President Obama claims his budget would cut taxes by $68 billion, but his included tax increases would actually raise taxes by over $1 trillion.

Curtis S. Dubay, Curtis Dubay Thu, 16 May 2013 15:45:00 -0400

Syria Crisis: U.S. Leadership Needed to Coordinate Allies

If Washington continues its hands-off policy toward Syria, then Syria is likely to be dominated by Islamist extremists.

James Phillips, James Phillips Thu, 16 May 2013 10:29:00 -0400

President Obama’s 2014 Budget: A Second-Term Vision for Economic Decline

The President’s 2014 budget arrived on April 10, more than two months past its legal deadline of the first Monday in February. In the budget, the President laid out his vision for his second term in office.

Thu, 16 May 2013 09:48:00 -0400

Missile Defenses: Robust Testing Program Essential

The United States should continue to provide a rigorous missile defense testing program, even if it means that intercepts do not happen.

Michaela Dodge, Michaela Dodge Wed, 15 May 2013 14:43:00 -0400

U.S.–Turkish Relations: Greater Cooperation Should Be Goal of Obama–Erdogan Meeting

The U.S. and Turkey face growing threats from Syria’s civil war, Iran’s nuclear program, and Iraq’s renewed sectarian violence.

James Phillips, James Phillips Wed, 15 May 2013 11:40:00 -0400

Obama’s IRA Cap: A Cap on Defined-Contribution Retirement Savings Plans

President Obama’s proposed cap on retirement savings accounts would increase the bias that taxes already impose on saving.

Romina Boccia, Curtis S. Dubay, Romina Boccia, Curtis Dubay Wed, 15 May 2013 08:31:00 -0400

13 Ways the 113th Congress Can Improve Education in America

Every year, taxpayers must send billions of dollars to Washington in order to fund federal education programs through the U.S. Department of Education and other agencies—which then redistribute that money back to individual states through a complex system of formula and competitive grant programs.

Lindsey Burke, Rachel Sheffield, Lindsey Burke, Rachel Sheffield Wed, 15 May 2013 00:00:00 -0400

After Pakistan Election, U.S. Should Still Press Counterterrorism Agenda

The U.S. should continue to encourage Pakistan to play a more active and effective role in countering extremists on its territory.

Lisa Curtis, Lisa Curtis Tue, 14 May 2013 20:28:00 -0400

Case Studies

• Heritage Foundation: Capitalizing on Hurricane Katrina

External Links

For further information, see relevant Neocon Europe page Heritage Foundation

External Articles

• Ronald Reagan, Remarks at a Dinnner Marking the Tenth Anniversary of The Heritage Foundation", October 3, 1983.
• R. Bellant, The Coors Connection, Political Research Associates, 1990.
• Norman Solomon, "The Media's Favorite Think Tank; How the Heritage Foundation Turns Money into Media", Extra!", July/August 1996.
• John B. Judis, Business and the Rise of K Street, Routledge Press, 2001.
• "Heritage Bolsters Its Republican Lineup", Washington Post, May 15, 2001. (Not available online).
• Adam Clymer, "Bush Aide Accused of Having a Talk Canceled", New York Times, August 21, 2001. (Sub req'd).
• Bill Berkowitz , "Heritage Foundation hawks: The lights are always on at America's elite conservative think tank", Working for Change, October 22, 2001.
• Bill Berkowitz, "The Heritage Foundation buffs up: Readying a twenty-first century attack on 'liberal' social programs", Workingforchange.com, March 27, 2002.
• Robert Borosage, "Questionable Heritage: Thirty Years Of A Right-Wing Think Tank", TomPaine.com, February 13, 2003.
• Brendan Nyhan, "The Heritage Foundation's dishonest "survey"", Spinsanity, February 27, 2003.
• Edwin J. Feulner, Joe Coors, R.I.P., National Review, March 18, 2003.
• "Paul Krugman, New York Times Columnist and Author of "The Great Unraveling: Losing Our Way in the New Century"", Buzzflash, September 11, 2003. (Passing mention of the influence of Heritage Foundation).
• Interhemispheric Resource Center, Heritage Foundation", RightWeb, November 22, 2003.
• Heritage Foundation", Media Transparency, accessed October 2005.
• Center for American Progress, "Continuing the Heritage of Distortion", Progress Report, January 9, 2004.
• Ariana Eunjung Cha, "In Iraq, the Job Opportunity of a Lifetime: Managing a $13 Billion Budget With No Experience", Washington Post, May 23, 2004.
• Thomas B. Edsall, "Think Tank's Ideas Shifted As Malaysia Ties Grew: Business Interests Overlapped Policy", Washington Post, April 17, 2005.
• Jason Deparle, "Next Generation of Conservatives (By the Dormful)", New York Times, June 14, 2005.
• Doug Ireland, "The Times hypes dangerous right-wing virginity study", Direland, June 15, 2005.
• "Plotting Privatization?", zFacts, June 28, 2005.
• Bill Berkowitz, "The Politics of Slander: With the president's poll numbers dropping and anti-Iraq war sentiment rising, the Heritage Foundation is sponsoring an event built around the premise that the anti-war movement is anti-American", Media Transparency, August 26, 2005.
• Dana Milbank and Alan Cooperman, "Conservative Author Is Seeing Red in America", Washington Post, August 31, 2005.
• Bill Berkowitz, "Heritage Foundation Capitalizes on Katrina: Washington, DC's premier right wing think tank puts forward a laundry list of conservative proposals to rebuild the Gulf Coast", MediaTransparency, September 15, 2005.
• John R. Wilke and Brody Mullins, "After Katrina, Republicans Back a Sea of Conservative Ideas", Wall Street Journal, September 15, 2005. (Sub req'd).
• Bill Berkowitz, "Is it a Massachusetts 'Miracle'?: The Heritage Foundation plays key role in a new health care initiative that promises to cover 95% of the state's uninsured", Media Transparency, May 8, 2006.
• Jack Spencer, "Competitive Nuclear Energy Investment: Avoiding Past Policy Mistakes," Heritage Foundation backgrounder #2086, November 15, 2007.
• Bill Berkowitz, "The Heritage Foundation at 35", Media Transparency, March 3, 2008.

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