A June 2014 report by the Government Accountability Office (GAO) revealed that, from 2008 to 2012, coin management costs associated with the Federal Reserve increased by 69 percent. Additionally, the agency had failed to identify potential measures to save costs. The Federal Reserve Banks of the United States are in charge of meeting the coin […]
Don’t Know Much About Algebra
Paul Krawzak wrote in the June 4 Roll Call about some disturbing news that came from an April Congressional Budget Office (CBO) report on the Affordable Care Act (Obamacare.) Said Krawzak, “In a little-noticed footnote to a report issued in April, ‘Updated Estimates of the Effects of the Insurance Coverage Provisions of the Affordable Care […]
The Veterans Administration is a Socialized Healthcare System
Who said the “VA is a socialized healthcare system?” Or waxed poetically, “I know about a health care system that has been highly successful in containing costs, yet provides excellent care. And the story of this system’s success provides a helpful corrective to anti-government ideology. For the government doesn’t just pay the bills in this system — it runs the hospitals and clinics …The system in question is our very own Veterans Health Administration, whose success story is one of the best-kept secrets in the American policy debate?” Or who declared the VA is a godsend? And who promised that he’ll “make the VA a leader of national health care reform so that veterans get the best care possible?”
Fatally Long Waits and Red Tape
At the corner of Vermont Avenue and H Street in northwest Washington, D.C., a single structure’s exterior bears a bronze plate engraved with the words “To care for him who shall have borne the battle and for his widow, and his orphan.” The building is the Department of Veterans Affairs, and the phrase, uttered by President Abraham Lincoln, is the agency’s motto. Sadly, this goal is not being met, and, disappointingly, it hasn’t been for nearly a decade.
Wheeler’s UTOPIA: This Emperor Has No Case
In his April 30 remarks at the National Cable & Telecommunications Association’s conference in Los Angeles, Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Chairman Tom Wheeler imperiously decreed: “I believe the FCC has the power – and I intend to exercise that power – to preempt state laws that ban competition from community broadband.”
FCC Chairman Takes another Stab at Controlling the Internet
In December 2013, House Committee on Energy and Commerce Chairman Fred Upton (R-Mich.), and Subcommittee on Communications and Technology Chairman Greg Walden (R-Ore.) announced that they would begin a review of the Communications Act of 1934 and its subsequent amendments, including the Cable Act of 1992 and the Telecommunications Act of 1996. The committee has issued three white papers on various topics that Congress plans to address in the modernization of the Communications Act, and it is expected that future publications will include the role that the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) will play in Internet governance, among other items.
End Ex-Im Once and For All
This fall, Congress will have an opportunity to shut off a massive spigot of corporate welfare that costs taxpayers hundreds of millions of dollars each year. All that senators and representatives have to do is what they do best: absolutely nothing. When the authorization for the Export-Import Bank (Ex-Im Bank) expires on September 30, 2014, Congress should not renew its charter.
GAO Report Shows Duplicative Spending on Software Licenses
Federal agencies are missing opportunities to save money in their software license purchases, according to a May 2014 Government Accountability Office (GAO) report. Citizens Against Government Waste (CAGW) has been following this issue for some time, including a May 10, 2013 briefing on Capitol Hill highlighting the problems with software asset management in the federal government.
ITIF Event Highlights Intellectual Property Challenges in India
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Federal Agency Hands Out Participation Trophies
According to the website for the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), the mission of the agency “is to make markets for consumer financial products and services work for Americans — whether they are applying for a mortgage, choosing among credit cards, or using any number of other consumer financial products.” The agency came into existence […]