The road to hell may be paved with good intentions, but in the “DMV” (not the Department of Motor Vehicles, but a local acronym describing the District of Columbia, Maryland, and Virginia), it is lined with ill-conceived transit projects, some of which are being given greater scrutiny by chastened elected leaders.
Medicare House of Cards: Bringing Down the RAC Program
All of Washington, D.C., as well as the rest of the country, has been binging on the third season of the wildly popular Netflix original series “House of Cards,” the sordid tale of Washington politicians who will stop at nothing to bend the power structure to their will in order to gain power, prestige, and money.
Intellectual Property Is Personal
On February 26, 2015, Citizens Against Government Waste (CAGW) held a briefing on Capitol Hill to discuss intellectual property (IP) rights, including copyrights, patents, brand recognition and trademarks.
King v. Burwell: Judicial Branch Should Judge, Not Legislate
On Wednesday, March 4, 2015, the Supreme Court heard oral arguments to King v. Burwell. It is one of four lawsuits that challenge the IRS’s regulation that allows subsidies to assist people to purchase health insurance in Federally-facilitated Exchanges under the Affordable Care Act (ACA), better known as ObamaCare. The plaintiffs argued that the plain language of the law only allows subsidies to assist people in an Exchange “established by a State” while the Obama administration is arguing the IRS was correct when it decided to provide subsidies for enrollees in both types of Exchanges. The Exchanges are the on-line marketplaces where people can shop and purchase health insurance. The Supreme Court heard the case because there have been conflicting rulings within the lower courts as to whether the IRS acted legally.
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.
Plain Packaging Spreads to Ireland
Following Australia’s 2012 foray into plain packaging, the Irish Senate adopted a resolution to restrict the use of corporate logos and trademarks on cigarette packaging on March 3, 2015.
The Supreme Court Hears King v. Burwell
Today, March 4, 2015, the Supreme Court heard oral arguments to King v. Burwell. It’s a big deal because it could decide whether the Affordable Care Act (ACA), better known as ObamaCare, survives in its current format. More to the point, the decision will have implications regarding the balance of power between the three co-equal […]
Capital Investments Don’t Happen Overnight Mr. Wheeler
On February 26, 2015, the three Democratic commissioners at the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) made a monumental decision to regulate the Internet under Title II of the Communications Act of 1934. In other words, they thought it was a good idea to apply an 80 year-old statute intended to regulate the monopoly Bell telephone system […]
The List Nobody Wants to Make: The 2015 GAO High Risk List
Anyone who has spent time on social media in recent years has inevitably noticed the proliferation of lists.
Home Mortgage Crisis 2.0: FHA Policies Portend Peril for Taxpayers
On February 11, 2015, Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Secretary Julian Castro testified before the House Financial Services Committee at an oversight hearing on the Federal Housing Administration.