Every two years, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) releases a report listing areas in the federal government it deems are at a high-risk of waste, fraud, and abuse.
Dire Straits – USPS Floundering
Those were the exact words of the United States Post Office’s (USPS) Postmaster General (PMG) Patrick Donahoe earlier this week during a hearing before the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee.
Heads in the Sand (or somewhere else)
Sen. Tom Harkin (D-Iowa) today became the latest in a growing list of Democrats who claim that the federal government does not have a spending problem.
BTOP Program Overbuilds Fiber in Colorado
On February 7, 2013, KUSA-Channel 9 News in Denver, Colorado investigated issues related to the administration of a Broadband Technology Opportunities Program (BTOP) grant within the state of Colorado, which is reportedly using the funding to build new fiber optic lines alongside those already in existence in direct competition with local telecommunication providers.
One for Three, and Savings for All
“To sequester, or not to sequester?” That appears to be the question for many of our congressional Hamlets.
Rep. Pelosi’s Comment Misses the Mark on the U.S. Budget Problem
This weekend, House Majority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) spoke with Chris Matthews on “Fox News Sunday.” During the interview, Pelosi delivered a quote that may be the early front runner for most absurd quote of 2013: “It is almost a false argument to say that we have a spending problem.
Odd Choices in Afghanistan
In late December 2012, the United States Air Force (USAF) did not renew its contract with Alenia Aermacchi, a subsidiary of Italian-based defense contractor Finmeccanica, to refurbish and supply 20 G222s (also known as the C-27A) for the Afghan Air Force (AAF).
It Isn’t 1996 Anymore
The year was 1996. Bill Clinton was in the White House; scientists reported that there might be life on Mars; Dolly the sheep, the first cloned mammal, was born; the T.V. hospital show E.R. topped the Neilsen’s ratings long before the “McDreamies” and “McSteamies” of the world entered onto the scene; the Simpsons became the longest running prime-time animated series; people were dancing to the Macarena; and on February 8, 1996, the Telecommunications Act of 1996 was enacted.
Postal Reform is Coming…
On Wednesday, February 6, 2013, the United States Postal Service (USPS) announced its intention to terminate Saturday first-class mail delivery on August 1, 2013. The announcement will certainly trigger a spirited public debate over the impact of such a dramatic change and could prompt resistance or outright obstructionism from lawmakers who don’t believe that the USPS is legally authorized to take such action without congressional approval. But the pronouncement serves to limn, once again, the depth and breadth of the USPS’s financial and structural woes. It also focuses attention on postal officials’ drive to reshape operations to adjust to significant and ongoing drops in first-class mail volume in the face of stultifying, costly labor work rules, excess infrastructure that straitjacket the agency. The USPS announced on November 15, 2012 a record $15.9 billion loss in fiscal year 2102.
Make the Ban on Internet Taxation Permanent
Today’s increasingly digital age has surrounded everyone’s lives with constantly connected laptops, tablets, and Smartphones, with quick, easy access to the Internet. These modern technological achievements are largely due to the fact that since 1992, when the general public first gained access to the World Wide Web, the Internet has been mostly free from government regulation and taxation.