Just in time for the Thanksgiving holiday, the Federal Communication Commission (FCC) is dropping a regulatory turkey on everyone’s doorstep. On November 20, 2011, the final rules of the “Open Internet Order,” also known as net neutrality, become final. These new regulations will significantly affect the ability of Internet providers to adopt new technology and adapt to the ever-changing needs of subscribers.
Earmark Moratorium: Earmarks Live On, Transparency Does Not
Considering that an earmark moratorium is in effect, Citizens Against Government Waste (CAGW)’s Pork Patrol sure seems to be uncovering a lot of earmarks.
When the one-year earmark moratorium was announced for fiscal year (FY) 2012, seasoned observers anticipated that earmarks would not disappear, but merely change shape. Judging by the 15 appropriations bills that CAGW has analyzed thus far, this viewpoint has been corroborated. Eleven of these bills contain earmarks, totaling 248 projects worth $9.5 billion. While the number has substantially decreased compared to prior years, any earmark violates the moratorium. Leading the way is the Department of Defense (DOD) bill, in which the Senate included 49 earmarks worth $2.9 billion and the House added 72 earmarks worth $3.9 billion.
Dismantle the USDA’s Milk Marketing Order System
Reports on the progress of Congress’s Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction in its quest to identify $1.2 trillion in savings by November 23, 2011 are decidedly mixed. An open hearing on October 26 yielded some hand-wringing, but little in the way of new information about the final outcome. An October 27, 2011 article in The Hill hints that the committee may be deadlocked.
Congress and the Criminal CLASS
When President Obama signed his contentious healthcare bill, the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA), on March 23, 2010, his administration and a Democratic Congress had spent months convincing many lawmakers, pundits, and voters that expanding subsidized healthcare was not only the right thing to do, but that it would be beneficial for taxpayers in the long term. Fiscal conservatives (including Citizens Against Government Waste) howled that the Congressional Budget Office’s (CBO) 10-year, $210 billion deficit reduction estimate for the bill was wildly overstated. But the CBO is supposed to be a nonpartisan judge, and advocates on both sides of the aisle have long cited its findings as backing for a variety of causes. Accordingly, cries of fuzzy math or budget gimmickry fell on deaf ears.
Zombie Budget: Payments to the Deceased
Halloween is around the corner, which means that in the coming weeks it will be more important than ever to be on the lookout for signs of the zombie apocalypse. Should those signs start to appear, any possible advantage for the living over the undead will be of the utmost importance. Tragically, the zombies have a head start in gathering resources for any impending battle, and their chief financial backer appears to be the federal government. Because when it comes to giving money to dead people, the government is in a class of its own, and while it might be tempting to forgive the feds for their confusion – the latest rash of imbursements for the dead involves federal employees, who are sometimes difficult to distinguish from zombies – taxpayers surely deserve better.
The Shovel-Ready Jobs Swindle
The money would be spent on a variety of infrastructure projects, such as improved highways, railways, and transit systems. The national infrastructure bank, according to Rep. Rosa DeLauro (D-Conn.), would end up functioning as a “public private partnership like Fannie Mae.” Such a comparison should give taxpayers heartburn.
Solyndra Scorches Taxpayers
It is a shame that the Obama administration didn’t pay as much attention to the details of Solyndra’s business plans and financial liabilities as it did to the details of the President’s photo op at the company’s facility on May 26, 2010. Given the rampant mismanagement and weaknesses associated with the Energy Department’s whole Loan Guarantee Program (LGP), there was plenty of incentive to do so.
Senate Backtracks on MEADS, Supplies Earmark
Created in 1995, the Medium Extended Air Defense System (MEADS) is a collaborative missile defense project intended to replace the Patriot Missile system, which has been used by the U.S. and its allies for decades. A Memorandum of Understanding between the U.S., Germany, and Italy required that the U.S. pony up 58 percent of the development costs, with Germany covering 25 percent and Italy paying 17 percent. The U.S. has already spent $1.9 billion on the design and development phase of MEADS, but the program has been plagued with cost overruns of $2 billion and is 10 years behind schedule.
Hearing Highlights Benefits and Challenges to Cloud Computing
On September 21, 2011, the House Science, Space and Technology Subcommittee on Technology and Innovation held a hearing entitled “The Next IT Revolution? Cloud Computing Opportunities and Challenges.” Chaired by Rep. Ben Quayle (R-Ariz.), the hearing highlighted the economic benefits of cloud computing, including the cost savings that could be realized when switching to the cloud through increased productivity and enhanced sustainability. Witnesses included Michael Capellas, chairman and CEO of Virtual Computing Environment; Dr. Dan Reed, Corporate Vice President, Technology Policy Group, Microsoft Corporation; Mr. Nick Combs, Federal Chief Technology Officer, EMC Corporation; and Dr. David McClure, Associate Administrator, Office of Citizen Services and Innovative Technologies, General Services Administration (GSA).
Getting Program Management Back on Track
After reviewing information technology (IT) program management at the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), Assistant Secretary for the Office of Information and Technology (OIT) Roger Baker decided to change the way VA manages IT development, and implemented a new system called the Program Management Accountability System (PMAS) on June 19, 2009. On August 18, 2011, this new system was touted as a success in a blog that was posted on the CIO.gov website, holding it up as an example for other government agencies to follow.