If the Obama administration succeeds in its plans to cut defense further, that percentage will drop to 3 percent or lower--the lowest total in the whole of the post-World War II era. But first, members of Congress and the American taxpayer want answers from Leon Panetta.

Obama's 2011 Elementary and Secondary Education Act Flexibility plan grants certain states waivers from No Child Left Behind accountability requirements if they agree to a series of preset conditions, but the waiver plan poses several notable risks.

Using fair-market valuation, Nevada PERS’ unfunded liabilities would rise from about $10 billion to almost $41 billion. Shifting PERS to a defined-contribution, 401(k)-type structure would ensure that benefit obligations are fully funded going forward and that everyone is clear regarding the pensions promises the government has made and its ability to fulfill them.

The problem today is not simply that America is no longer waterboarding the Khalid Skeikh Mohammeds of the world; it is that, outside the war zones of Afghanistan and Iraq, we are no longer capturing, detaining, and interrogating the Khalid Sheikh Mohammeds of the world at all.

Ahead of their next debate November 22, the Republican presidential candidates are getting executive briefings on hot-button foreign policy and national security issues. But you don’t have to run for president to get a speed-read.

Failure to rebalance ties with Taiwan has longer-term consequences, not the least of which is a China that thinks it can call the shots in this key area of the world. (INCLUDES VIDEO)

Most of the exchanges rested on the ideological debate over how much attention -- and corresponding funds -- should be paid to crises abroad while economic troubles at home remain paramount from voter polls to Capitol Hill.

Foreign policy and national security will take center stage tonight as Republican presidential hopefuls tackle questions from American Enterprise Institute and Heritage Foundation scholars live on CNN.