On Friday, July 19, 2013, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) will be meeting to discuss, among other items, reforms to the Universal Service Fund (USF)’ E-Rate program, which was highlighted in the July edition of Wastewatcher. It is expected that the outcome of this meeting will be a Notice of Proposed Rule Making (NPRM) to […]
E-Rate for Education
Without a doubt, broadband provides the promise of improving every aspect of daily life in America. Job seekers can find employers, shoppers can find great deals and information can be shared through Internet access.
Halting Wireless Tax Increases
The June 2013 early release report on wireless substitution by the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) indicates that the percentage of adults and children living in households with wireless only telephone service has been on a steady increase since 2003. The data in the report indicates that wireless-only population is now about 36.5 percent and […]
“Campaign to Cut Waste” Falls Short
On June 13, 2011, President Obama issued Executive Order No. 13576, which called for “Delivering an Effective, Efficient and Accountable Government.” In a short video released on June 12, 2011, President Obama identified specific examples of the types of savings that could be achieved through the Executive Order. He touted the entire effort as his “Campaign to Cut Waste,” which, […]
The High Taxation of Wireless Service
The adoption of wireless communications has grown from 48.7 million subscribers in 1997 to 321.7 million subscribers in 2012. Despite the increased use of this innovative technology, the wireless industry is one of the most heavily taxed in the nation. The U.S. average state and local sales tax for most goods and services is currently […]
Software Management Necessary to Save Taxpayer Dollars
On May 10, 2013, Citizens Against Government Waste hosted a briefing on “Saving Taxpayer Dollars through Better Software Management’ to bring light to the need for sound software procurement policy, particularly in these times of fiscal constraint. The panelists were the former Department of Homeland Security Chief Information Officer and former Chief Information Officer for the Aviation Traffic Organization at the Federal Aviation Administration Steven I. Cooper, and Eric Cho, a procurement policy analyst for the Department of Homeland Security currently on assignment with the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform. The event was moderated by this author.
Slow Progress, but Progress Nonetheless
On May 21, 2013, the General Services Administration (GSA) announced the approval of Amazon Web Services as an authorized cloud service provider for the federal government under the Federal Risk and Authorization Management Program (FedRAMP). The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) submitted the application for Amazon Web Services to receive its provisional authority […]
The Proof is in the Metrics
On Tuesday, May 14, 2013, the House Oversight and Government Affairs Subcommittee on Government Operations held a hearing on “Data Centers and Cloud Computing: Is the Government Optimizing New Information Technologies to Save Taxpayer Dollars?” Citizens Against Government Waste’s (CAGW) most recent cloud computing report, the 2012 Federal Cloud Review discussed the potential for savings […]
The Devil is in the Details on STEM Consolidation
There is little doubt that science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) programs are essential to the nation’s ability to compete in the global economy.
ECPA Reform Necessary to Prevent Unwarranted Searches
The Electronic Communications Privacy Act (ECPA) was enacted in 1986, long before widespread use of the Internet. Today’s society communicates in a dramatically different manner than in 1986, with an increasing amount of data stored digitally with third party providers.