The WasteWatcher

Connect America Fund: Continuing the Universal Service Fee with No End in Sight
On November 18, 2011, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) issued its much-anticipated 759-page proposed rulemaking for the Connect America Fund (CAF), which sets out to reform the Universal Service Fund (USF) and the Intercarrier...

Time to End Earmarks Once and For All
Year after year, lawmakers have sullied the political process by directing chunks of the federal budget back to their home districts and states to promote their own reelections and reward special interests. In an attempt to put an end to this form...

News from ALEC
The American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) held its States and Nation Policy Summit in Scottsdale, Arizona from November 29, 2011 to December 2, 2011. Citizens Against Government Waste (CAGW) staff was present during several meetings of the...

Minibus Drives Savings
On November 18, 2011, President Obama signed the “minibus” appropriations legislation, which contained three fiscal year (FY) appropriations bills: the Department of Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies...

Congressional Meddling in USPS Makes Bailout More Likely
Congress seems to have two legislative speeds: inertia in the face of an oncoming fiscal disaster, or ugly, last-minute scrambles to ram through sham legislation that often exacerbates already fraught situations.

California High-Speed Rail: Way Off Track
In November 2008, California voters approved Proposition 1A, a $9.95 billion bond measure to fund part of the state’s share of the proposed high-speed rail line from Anaheim to San Francisco. The bond was approved by a narrow margin of 52.7 percent...

Federal Contractor Pensions Protected at Taxpayers’ Expense
Taxpayers may be surprised to learn that they are currently bankrolling the retirement plans of profitable, private sector companies. With a record-breaking national debt, a sinking economy, and millions of Americans facing losses to their own...

Two Different Worlds: Public vs. Private Sector Compensation
Despite the popular belief that federal employees are underpaid public servants, the data tells a very different story. When all of the factors that affect compensation are accounted for, there is significant evidence that federal employees make...

Sequestration Option Discussed After Super Committee Fails to Deliver
Since the Budget Control Act (BCA) was signed into law on August 2, 2011, all eyes had been on the Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction. With a looming $15 trillion national debt, weak economy and failing financial markets, this “Super...

On Fannie, Freddie, and the FHA, Two Steps Back
Taxpayers are both in awe of and enraged by the schizophrenic behavior of government officials and lawmakers when it comes to taking action on the nation’s thorniest public policy conundrums. Over and over, taxpayers hear the rhetoric emanating from...

Another Failing Federal Loan Program
The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Rural Electrification Administration (REA) program began during the New Deal Era of the 1930’s. The program’s primary goal was to promote rural electrification to farmers and residents in out of the way...

GAO Skewers United Launch Alliance Contract Plans
The Evolved Expendable Launch Vehicle (EELV) program began in 1995 and was designed to allow the Department of Defense (DOD) access to space with the intention of reducing the cost of satellite launches by at least 25 percent while striving for up...