The Heartland Institute

The U.S. Geological Survey has published the results of a study regarding water quality in Arkansas near natural gas fracking sites. The USGS analyzed water samples from 127 wells near fracking sites and found no evidence of fracking pollution. While anti-energy activists launch unfounded, irresponsible allegations that natural ...

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is launching an inquiry into the impact of financial products marketed to students through colleges and universities. It will then determine whether these arrangements are in the best interest of students. "We have seen many colleges establish relationships with financial institutions to ...

As states implement provisions of the federal health care law, many are debating whether to expand their Medicaid programs in order to receive a larger federal subsidy. Gov. John Kasich recently announced expansion “makes sense for the state of Ohio,” but state taxpayers may disagree. If Ohio expands its Medicaid program to ...

On February 14, 2012 – one year ago – Fakegate began. Like Climategate , it was a scandal revealing the dishonesty and desperation of those who claim man-made global warming (alias “climate change”) is a crisis . Fakegate involved criminal activity, repeated lying, and outright theft by a high-ranking scientist in the global ...

When Congress and President Obama in January came up with their beyond-the-last-minute deal to put off addressing the coming fiscal crisis, The Wall Street Journal turned the spotlight on a little-noticed, yet too typical aspect of Washington's machinations: "The bill's seedier underside is the $40 billion or so in tax payoffs ...

The latest report from the Congressional Budget Office highlights a number of reasons why the CBO is concerned about the implementation of Obamacare. It boils down to this: Obamacare is going to be more expensive than the Obama administration thought, disrupt the marketplace more than it thought, and be tougher to implement ...

This year North Carolina joined the growing number of states considering major changes to its tax system. Republican legislators proposed in early January a tax reform plan that would eliminate personal and corporate income taxes and offset the cuts with increases in state sales taxes while expanding the latter to cover all ...

The world’s largest philanthropy has targeted education policymaking, sparking debate among education wonks and watchdogs over whether some of its activities cloak government actions and amount to lobbying. “A lot of private foundations are making decisions that would normally be left up to a public institution that would be accountable ...

Benjamin Domenech discusses the latest CBO report on the implementation of Obamacare. ...

February 8, 2013 Policy Tip Sheet — North Carolina Renewable Energy Mandate Problem In August 2007, Senate Bill 3 established a renewable portfolio standard (RPS) for the state of North Carolina, requiring utilities to generate 12.5 percent of retail electricity sales from renewable energy by 2021. Municipal utilities and cooperatives ...

A majority of the senior scientists responsible for producing the U.S. Global Change Research Program’s draft report are affiliated with environmental activist groups, investigative journalist Donna Laframboise reports. Of the 13 senior scientists who put together USGCRP’s January 2013 draft report, seven have ties to activist groups ...

TEA Party Caucus Advisory Committee (TPCAC) compiles research from several local grassroots organizations and think tanks, as well as The Heartland Institute, to come up with a list of legislative priorities for the TEA Party Caucus of the Texas Legislature. ...

The Texas legislature has been consumed with education during this year’s session, debating lifting the state’s charter school cap, reconsidering 15 tests students must take to graduate, and a court ruling state education funding is unconstitutionally small. Even with Republicans firmly in control of the governor’s office and both ...

Pennsylvania residents can no longer dispose of electronic equipment through regular garbage pickups. Under a law that took effect January 24, landfills are no longer allowed to accept televisions, computers, printers, and similar electronic devises. Manufacturers Must Act In addition to blocking landfills from accepting electronics ...

Small changes in solar output have a significant effect on the earth’s climate, National Research Council scientists report in a new study published by the National Academies Press. The new study indicates an increase in solar output during the past century has played a greater role in recent global warming than claimed by ...

After teaching Spanish for many years, I was asked by my school district to teach English as a Second Language. Teaching Spanish, I was told, meant teaching a second language, so the process should be similar. It wasn’t. I didn’t realize the demographics of the learners would present such a profound teaching challenge. My ...

Todd Wynn, director of the Energy, Environment, and Agriculture Task Force for the American Legislative Exchange Council, explains how renewable energy mandates are punishing the economy. ...

Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Corbett has unveiled a plan to privatize the Keystone State’s monopoly liquor store system, simultaneously executing a move intended to accomplish a goal of his administration while undercutting some of his loudest critics. In Pittsburgh, Corbett, a Republican, said the proceeds from selling off the state ...

A key issue for many state legislatures this year is transportation funding. Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley (D) and Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell (R) have proposed sales tax increases for transportation, Wyoming Gov. Matt Mead (R) has proposed raising his state’s second-lowest-in-the-nation gasoline tax, and others have proposed new ...

Exercising their rights under California’s 2010 Parent Trigger law, more than 300 parents delivered petitions to the Los Angeles school district in January, calling for their children’s failing school to be improved or converted into a charter school. Parents are now reviewing proposals from eight different organizations and ...