On July 15, 2014, the House of Representatives passed the Permanent Internet Tax Freedom Act, which would have made the moratorium on taxes for Internet access permanent. Unfortunately, because of legislative wrangling in the Senate, the bill failed to become law.
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.
Gold, Silver, Bronze (oh, Platinum too)
In years past, when people heard the terms Gold, Silver, Bronze, they thought about the Olympic medals. Now, they likely think of ObamaCare with its metallic collection of expensive healthcare plans of Platinum, Gold, Silver, and Bronze.
340B Drug Discount Program Finally Gets a Congressional Hearing
House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Health holds first hearing on the 340B drug discount program since 2005.
Time to Reform FCC’s Designated Entity Program
There is a problem when a large business is able to use a federal program designed to help small and minority-owned businesses in order to obtain discounts from the government.
Study: Postal Service Receives $18 Billion Per-Year in Monopoly Benefits
A report by former top Commerce Department official and Clinton economic adviser Robert Shapiro reveals the inherent subsidies and monopoly benefits provided to the United States Postal Service (USPS) result in more than $18 billion in financial competitive advantages per year.
IG Finds 30 percent of EPA’s Expensive Research Equipment Sat Idle for Years, Some More Than a Decade
Nearly $3 million dollars’ worth of Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) equipment has been gathering dust in a warehouse, according to a March 16, 2015 Inspector General’s (IG) audit.
Navy Showers for All?
It is bad enough the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) squandered $2 million of taxpayer money on grants and projects to capture methane gas from agricultural waste and landfills in foreign countries, $15 million on fraudulent credit card use, and in spite of several employees’ illicit behavior, such as watching pornography or running a business while at work, not one has been fired.
GAO Cites Billions Left on the Chopping Block
The prevailing wisdom inside the Beltway and especially among big-government politicians and bureaucrats is one that was espoused by House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) in 2013. Flummoxed by a reporter’s question on budget cuts, she literally threw up her hands and exclaimed, “The cupboard is bare! There’s no more cuts to make!”
Transportation Boondoggles: Streetcars (and Other Things) Lacking Desire
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.