The National Telecommunications and Information Administration’s (NTIA) deadline for final proposals for the $42.45 billion in Broadband Equity Access and Deployment (BEAD) is September 3, 2025. Funding is supposed to be distributed by December 31, 2025. Like other broadband programs, BEAD projects must go through a state and local permitting process, which should expedite rather […]
States across the country are working to finalize their final Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment funding proposals to the National Telecommunications and Information Administration by the September 4, 2025, deadline. The state of Louisiana is leading the charge to close the digital divide as the first state in the nation to release its final draft […]
The federal 340B Drug Pricing Program was intended to provide discounts on drugs to patients but the lack of a clear intent and patient definition, along with inadequate oversight, has led to the program being exploited by hospitals and contract pharmacies to generate millions of dollars in profit. The discounts are supposed to be provided […]
Since it was approved by Golden State voters in the 2008 Proposition 1A bond measure, the California High-Speed Rail (CHSR) project, which was intended to connect San Francisco and Los Angeles by passenger rail, has shoveled more than $111 billion into the furnace of government waste. The California High Speed Rail Authority (CHSRA) was tasked […]
Lawmakers in Washington, D.C. and 10 states are pushing to restrict the kinds of foods and drinks Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) recipients can purchase. These proposals would have no direct fiscal effect, as total SNAP funding levels would remain unchanged, but they would limit personal choices and individual freedom and expand government control over […]
High-speed rail projects across the U.S. continue to be challenged as the federal government reviews the effectiveness of its expenditures. On April 14, 2025, the Department of Transportation (DOT) terminated Amtrak’s contract with Texas Central Partners to build the Texas Central Railway, a high-speed rail line between Dallas and Houston. The $63.9 million in unspent […]
Sacramento’s quixotic project leads the way as the nation’s most expensive and wasteful passenger rail boondoggle
Legislation in Nebraska and Oregon threatens to roll back historic declines in both youth and adult cigarette smoking.
Proposals to establish new municipal utilities would roll back the advance of energy privatization.
Some states have built healthy emergency funding reserves; others may leave their taxpayers out in the cold.
