This morning, the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Government Affairs held a hearing entitled, “Frustrated Travelers: Rethinking TSA Operations to Improve Passenger Screening and Address Threats to Aviation.” The witnesses included: The Honorable Peter V. Neffenger, Administrator, Transportation Security Administration (TSA) The Honorable John Roth, Inspector General, U.S. Department of Homeland Security Jennifer Grover, […]
Hensarling’s CHOICE: “Creating Hope and Opportunity for Investors, Consumers and Entrepreneurs”
With his newest catch-phrase, “Economic Growth for All, and Bank Bailouts for None,” House Financial Services Committee Chairman Jeb Hensarling (R-Texas) unveiled the key principles underpinning his proposal to replace the Dodd-Frank Act with “real reforms that work,” in a speech earlier today to the Economic Club of New York. The following represent the key […]
OMB Tackles Some Low-Hanging Fruit
On January 20, 2016, Citizens Against Government Waste (CAGW) weighed in on a request for comments from the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) on the requirements that should be included in its guidance to federal departments and agencies for improving the management and purchasing of software assets. CAGW recommended that agencies should be required […]
In Jeopardy: Shuster’s Loftier Vision for Air Traffic Control Modernization
In today’s early edition of “Morning Consult,” an online digest of relevant public policy activities in the nation’s capital, the journal highlighted the disparities between the Senate and House versions of legislation to reauthorize the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). In April, the Senate passed their version overwhelmingly (95-3), while the House bill (approved by the Transportation & Infrastructure Committee) has not made it to the floor yet.
Let the USDA Catfish Inspection Program Off The Hook!
The US Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) catfish inspection program has already been called out on nine separate occasions, February 2011, March 2011, May 2012, February 2013, April 2013, April 2014, December 2014, February 2015, and April 2015, by the Government Accountability Office (GAO) as a program that duplicates another catfish inspection program operating at the Food & Drug Administration. With the release of its April 2016 report on duplication, the GAO once again highlighted the problem.
Fiscal Year 2017 Appropriations: Poor Track Record, Poor Outlook
In January 2016, House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Ohio) and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) declared their intention to punctually approve the 12 appropriations bills that fund the federal government. Perhaps this declaration was designed to mark the ten-year anniversary of the last time this feat was accomplished, in fiscal year (FY) 2006.
GAO Duplication Report Pinpoints the Waste in Washington
When House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) famously exclaimed, “The cupboard is bare! There’s no more cuts to make,” in 2013, the national debt stood at $17 trillion. Since then, the debt has risen to more than $19 trillion with no sign of abatement. Members of Congress often use this growing figure as a prelude to promise to cut “waste, fraud, and abuse,” especially as they campaign for their jobs. But, once they return or first come to Washington, they seem to have a hard time eliminating the waste, even though it is fairly easy to locate.
Inspectors General Under Threat
One of the most effective tools for identifying and preventing waste, fraud, abuse, and mismanagement in the federal government are the offices of Inspectors General (OIGs) at 72 federal departments and agencies. Their stated goal is to “combat waste, fraud, and abuse in the programs and operations of that agency.”
State AGs Attack First Amendment
Last March, Citizens Against Government Waste wrote in its monthly newsletter, WasteWatcher, that scientists, engineers, and economists have and are continuing to push back against the anthropogenic (man-made) global warming hypothesis. In other words, the science is definitely not settled and much more research must be done before governments spend trillions of tax dollars on inefficient alternative energy sources such as wind and solar while limiting access to energy derived from fossil fuels.
The USA Act(s): A Tale of Two Spending Reform Bills
To borrow from (and bifurcate) one of Charles Dickens’ most famous sentences, the current governing environment might be described as “the worst of times … the age of foolishness … the epoch of incredulity … the winter of despair …” Anyone who remembers the rest of the opening line from A Tale of Two Cities knows that Dickens painted a more balanced picture, referencing also “the best of times … the age of wisdom … the epoch of belief … the spring of hope …” That upbeat effort notwithstanding, a cup half full does not accurately reflect the state of government spending today.