In today’s early edition of “Morning Consult,” an online digest of relevant public policy activities in the nation’s capital, the journal highlighted the disparities between the Senate and House versions of legislation to reauthorize the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). In April, the Senate passed their version overwhelmingly (95-3), while the House bill (approved by the Transportation & Infrastructure Committee) has not made it to the floor yet.
CAGW to NPS: Show Me the Data
Today, the House Appropriations Subcommittee on the Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies marked-up (read and amended) its fiscal year 2017 appropriations bill.
Let the USDA Catfish Inspection Program Off The Hook!
The US Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) catfish inspection program has already been called out on nine separate occasions, February 2011, March 2011, May 2012, February 2013, April 2013, April 2014, December 2014, February 2015, and April 2015, by the Government Accountability Office (GAO) as a program that duplicates another catfish inspection program operating at the Food & Drug Administration. With the release of its April 2016 report on duplication, the GAO once again highlighted the problem.
CAGW Outraged by HHS OIG’s Latest Improper Payment Review
Citizens Against Government Waste (CAGW) was outraged, if not surprised, at the report from the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Office of Inspector General (OIG) showing the ongoing failure of HHS executives to accurately report and prevent improper payments. With the government-wide improper payment total at a staggering $137 billion in fiscal year (FY) 2015 (and rising), the OIG outlines some of the steps that agency has taken to stem the tide of red ink, but finds significant operational failures, in both its reporting of improper payments and implementing corrective action plans.
State Tobacco Settlement Funds Go Up In Smoke
In 1998, 46 states and five U.S. territories signed onto the Master Settlement Agreement (MSA) in order to recover taxpayer dollars lost to the treatment of tobacco-related health issues, which would then be used to fund anti-smoking campaigns and public health programs. As part of the settlement, the states and territories will receive an estimated total of $246 billion over the first 25 years.
Fiscal Year 2017 Appropriations: Poor Track Record, Poor Outlook
In January 2016, House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Ohio) and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) declared their intention to punctually approve the 12 appropriations bills that fund the federal government. Perhaps this declaration was designed to mark the ten-year anniversary of the last time this feat was accomplished, in fiscal year (FY) 2006.
GAO Duplication Report Pinpoints the Waste in Washington
When House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) famously exclaimed, “The cupboard is bare! There’s no more cuts to make,” in 2013, the national debt stood at $17 trillion. Since then, the debt has risen to more than $19 trillion with no sign of abatement. Members of Congress often use this growing figure as a prelude to promise to cut “waste, fraud, and abuse,” especially as they campaign for their jobs. But, once they return or first come to Washington, they seem to have a hard time eliminating the waste, even though it is fairly easy to locate.
GSEs: As Sleazy as 1-2-3
When the Jackson Five (featuring a very young Michael Jackson) appeared on American Bandstand on February 21, 1970, they sang about love being as easy as learning the ABCs. But childhood crushes pale in comparison to a truly nefarious coupling: the marriage of private gains and taxpayer losses.
United States Postal Service Fails Despite Advantages
The United States Postal Service (USPS) is one of the largest employers in the United States, with 625,113 employees. But the agency’s financial results are not quite as impressive. The USPS lost $5.1 billion in 2015 and the cost of labor has increased while the size of the workforce has shrunk. Nonetheless, the USPS Office of the Inspector General (IG), which is required to uncover and expose waste and abuse, declared in an April 16, 2016 report that the USPS is “doing better financially than sometimes reported in the media.”
A New Cause du Jour: Beating Up “Big Pharma”
Beating up pharmaceutical companies is the new “cause du jour.” Even though pharmaceuticals are only 10 percent of all healthcare costs, they tend to make easy targets because it is difficult to understand why such a small pill should cost so much money.