The U.S. Ambassador to an African nation asked his facility manager to order four flower pots for the embassy; nothing fancy, just four plastic flower pots. He came back and said, on second thought; order a truck load of them since there is a lot of money left in the facilities budget and it should all be spent. The facility manager ordered the pots, and when they arrived, four of them were placed where they were needed around the embassy compound. The rest were unloaded and placed out of sight behind a building, where they were left to slowly crumble in the blazing African sun.
Passage of TPA is a Win for All
On June 24, 2015, the Senate followed the House’s lead and voted 60-38 in favor of H.R. 2146, which contained the Bipartisan Congressional Trade Priorities and Accountability Act (TPA). After President Obama signed the bill into law on June 29, 2015, he can now “fast track” trade deals to Congress for approval by a simple majority in both chambers. This process assures trading partners that agreements cannot be amended once a deal has been consummated.
Signal Lost and $430 Million Wasted
Following the terror attacks of September 11, 2001, the 9/11 Commission identified the need for an interoperable communication network among the nation’s first responders. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) was tasked with creating a common channel that different types of first responders could access. After more than a decade and $430 million spent, the […]
Sen. Warren Goes it Alone in Her War on Auto Dealers
Sen. Warren is having trouble getting anyone to support her war on auto dealer lending. A June 1, 2015 Politico article stated that Warren has been actively trying to garner cosponsors for legislation that attempts to bring the auto finance industry under the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s regulatory jurisdiction. The only problem? Even her fellow Democratic senators […]
Spending Caps: To Bust or Not To Bust?
On May 5, 2015, the Senate followed the House’s lead and voted 51-48 to approve the conference report accompanying the fiscal year (FY) 2016 Budget Resolution. In other words, Congress did its job and passed a joint budget plan for the first time since 2009.
Senator Reid Out, Yucca Mountain In?
On March 27, 2015, Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) announced that he will not seek reelection in 2016. Supporters of the Yucca Mountain nuclear waste repository hope that the exit of one of its most powerful opponents will breathe new life into the long-stalled project.
Keep the Caps
Based on all of the bloviating around Washington, D.C., about how sequestration is inflexible and unworkable, one would assume that the entire federal budget process is about to explode. In reality, the caps on federal discretionary spending are scheduled to increase every year through fiscal year (FY) 2021; just not by as much as some would like.
Keeping the Skies Safe
As air travel becomes ubiquitous, the federal government must ensure that the crowded skies are both friendly and safe. In order to reassure the public that these objectives can be achieved, the Federal Aviation Administration’s (FAA) air traffic control system must be modernized and air traffic controllers must be adequately trained.
Social Security Reform: Time to Go Big
Among the rules adopted by the House of Representatives is a new provision that bars the transfer of money between the Social Security old age and survivors insurance (OASI) trust fund and the disability insurance (DI) trust fund. Congress has authorized 11 transfers from OASI to DI in order to temporarily patch the DI trust fund. In 1994, the last time that DI was on the verge of going broke, Congress reallocated 0.6 percentage points of the payroll tax from OASI to the DI program. The rule change prevents another temporary fix from occurring and provides a significant opportunity for Congress to adopt reforms in order to help ensure the future solvency of both programs.
CAGW Reaction to SOTU 2015: The President Is in an Alternate Universe
The President’s State of the Union Address would have made a good episode of “The Twilight Zone.” In “The Obama Zone,” the following is true, because he either never mentioned the subject matter or failed to properly state the facts…