Countless investigations over the past decade have exposed a systemic cancer of mismanagement, neglect, and failure at the VA.
Failing DC Metrorail Opens Absurd Swag Shop
The Metrorail system in the nation’s capital has been in crisis for almost a decade. It has been labeled, “the worst in the world,” and its financial situation has been characterized as a “death spiral.” But the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA) has now unveiled a new plan to fix all of that: A swag store.
Getting Back to Basics at the EPA
Over the last decade, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has been the poster child for government waste, employee misconduct, and job-killing policies. This pitiful legacy offers new EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt a golden opportunity to turn around the troubled agency.
Vacant VA Buildings Cost Taxpayers Millions
The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) has gone through many trials and travails over the past several years. A new report from the Government Accountability Office (GAO) exposed another aspect of the department that enables waste and mismanagement.
GAO Duplication Report Should Guide Trump
Early in his presidency, Donald Trump has demonstrated through words and deeds a commitment to reforming and reorganizing the federal bureaucracy, including the elimination of waste, fraud, abuse and mismanagement. A report from the Government Accountability Office (GAO) will make that job a little easier.
HUD: Noble Motives, Fiscal Disaster
The stated mission of the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) is to “create strong, sustainable, inclusive communities and quality affordable homes for all.” While that goal is laudable, the systemic dysfunction that permeates the department will prove to be a tough challenge for HUD Secretary Ben Carson.
NFL Hits the Taxpayer-Funding Jackpot in Vegas
Las Vegas has long been known as “Sin City,” and it will soon be home to one of the worst fiscal sins of all time. On October 14, 2016, the Nevada state legislature approved the largest taxpayer subsidy in American sports history. As long as the NFL allowed the Oakland Raiders to move to Las Vegas, taxpayers would fork over $750 million to help fund a new $1.9 billion stadium adjacent to the Vegas strip. On March 27, 2017, NFL owners did just that, approving the move by a vote of 31-1.
Obamacare Still Vulnerable to Fraud
Even before Congress failed to pass a repeal and replacement for the Affordable Care Act (Obamacare), a November 2016 Government Accountability Office (GAO) report again exposed rampant and systematic fraud in the application process.
Securing the Border: A Cautionary Tale
The promise to build a wall and secure the southern border of the United States was perhaps President Donald Trump’s most well-known campaign pledge. On January 25, 2017, he signed two executive orders related to immigration. Executive Order No. 3 called for the “immediate construction of a physical wall,” the “expedited determinations of apprehended individuals’ claims of eligibility to remain in the United States,” and the prompt removal of individuals “whose legal claims to remain in the United States have been lawfully rejected.” Executive Order No, 4 called for the prioritization for deportation of undocumented immigrants with criminal convictions or who have been charged with a crime and the hiring of 10,000 additional Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers, along with other provisions. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary John Kelly signed a memorandum on February 20, 2017, to implement the two executive orders.
Can President Trump Finally End the VA Scandal?
As the nation prepares for the transfer of power from the Obama administration to the Trump administration, the issue of veteran healthcare and the insidious and continuing wait-times scandal remains a critical area of concern.