Blog - Citizens Against Government Waste

Confirmation Congestion: 124 Down, More Than 1,000 to Go

August 28, 2017 Peter Klensch

President Donald Trump has the authority to fill more than 4,000 executive positions, of which 1,212 require Senate confirmation. According to a joint study by The Washington Post and the Partnership for Public Service, as of August 22, 2017, the Senate has confirmed 124 Trump nominees, with 277 nominations pending. By comparison, President George W. Bush had 294 confirmations, with 414 pending nominations by August 22, 2001; while President Obama reached 310 confirmations and 433 pending nominations by August 22, 2009. The confirmation of less than half the number of Bush and Obama nominees has hindered the advancement of President Trump’s agenda.

Defense

Security Weaknesses in Pentagon Excess Property Program

August 28, 2017 staff

The Defense Logistics Agency’s (DLA) Law Enforcement Support Office (LESO) handles the management of logistical support for the military. It also runs the 1033 program, which transfers excess Department of Defense (DOD) property to federal, tribal, state, and local law enforcement agencies (LEAs) across the United States and its territories. Since its inception, this program has transferred more than $6 billion worth of DOD property to participating LEAs.

Commerce, Technology, Telecommunications

ECPA Modernization Act of 2017 Introduced

July 28, 2017 Deborah Collier

The following statement is attributable to Thomas A. Schatz, President, Council for Citizens Against Government Waste on the introduction of the ECPA Modernization Act of 2017 on July 27, 2017: “The Council for Citizens Against Government Waste applauds Sens. Mike Lee (R-Utah), and Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) for introducing the ECPA Modernization Act of 2017, which […]

Healthcare, PBM, PBMs, Pharmacy Benefits Manager

Congress Reacts to Largest Federal Healthcare Fraud Enforcement Action

July 27, 2017 staff

On Thursday, July 13, 2017, the Department of Justice (DoJ) announced in a press release the largest healthcare fraud enforcement action in its history. Attorney General Jeff Sessions and Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Tom Price, M.D., announced the takedown, in which over 412 individuals were found responsible for $1.3 billion in fraud losses.

Healthcare, PBM, PBMs, Pharmacy Benefits Manager

The Dangers of Single-Payer Healthcare

July 26, 2017 staff

CAGW’s June 2017 Porker of the Month was Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), who earned the “honor” in part due to his outspoken and unwavering support of the single-payer healthcare system. Sen. Sanders touts the system as the “morally principled” option; in reality, it would create long waiting times, cause a massive increase in taxes, and allow bureaucrats in Washington to make decisions that ought to be made between doctors and patients.

Defense, Healthcare, PBM, PBMs, Pharmacy Benefits Manager

Vacant VA Buildings Cost Taxpayers Millions

July 26, 2017 Curtis Kalin

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.

Technology, Telecommunications

FCC Chairman Takes Action to Fix Lifeline

July 26, 2017 Deborah Collier

It is mind-boggling when the government continues to squander money on a program that has been on the front line of wasteful spending, and program abuse. Yet, that is exactly what the Universal Service Fund (USF) continues to do with through Low-Income Support program, which provides subsidies to low-income households for telephone and broadband service.

Transportation

The 21st AIRR Act Takes Off

July 26, 2017 Rachel Cole

On June 22, 2017, House of Representatives Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure Chairman Bill Shuster (R-Pa.) introduced H.R. 2997, the 21^st Century Aviation Innovation, Reform, and Reauthorization (AIRR) Act. The legislation will provide for a six-year reauthorization and significant reforms to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).

Transportation

ATC Privatization Would Bring U.S. Airport Industry to New Heights

July 26, 2017 staff

On June 5,2017 President Donald Trump announced his proposal to privatize the Air Traffic Control (ATC) system as part of a broader plan to drastically improve American infrastructure. Approximately 932 million Americans took to the sky in 2016, more than the air traffic of China, Germany, Japan, and the United Kingdom combined. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is already charged with overseeing the world’s busiest airport, Atlanta’s Hartfield-Jackson International Airport, and the fourth-busiest, Los Angeles International Airport.

Healthcare

The FDA Should Pave the Way to Tobacco Harm Reduction

July 26, 2017 Elizabeth Wright

Passage of the Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act (TCA) in June 2009 gave the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) regulatory control over tobacco products. The purpose of the TCA, as stated in the bill’s report language, was to permit the FDA “to restrict the sale and distribution of tobacco products, including advertising and promotion” and to “take specified actions, including public notification and recall, against unreasonably harmful products.” The law also required the FDA “to establish tobacco product standards to protect the public health” but prohibited the agency from “banning all cigarettes, all smokeless tobacco products, all little cigars, all cigars other than little cigars, all pipe tobacco, or all roll-your-own tobacco products,” or “requiring the reduction of nicotine yields of a tobacco product to zero.” Notably, the law also set forth standards for the sale of “modified-risk tobacco products.”