The WasteWatcher
The WasteWatcherMedicare Fraud: Not a New Story
Just before the August congressional break, I was asked to testify before a forum on Medicare fraud that was chaired by Sen. Mel Martinez (R-Fla.) and Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas). Sen. Martinez introduced S. 3164, the Seniors and Taxpayers...
The WasteWatcherDepartment of Defense Delays Air Force Tanker Contract Decision…Again
The Department of Defense (DoD) has once again flip-flopped with regard to the awarding of a $40 billion Air Force aerial refueling tanker contract.
The WasteWatcherCaution: Porkers at Work
While summer has almost come to an end, the only appropriations bill that has come to a full vote in either chamber of Congress this year is the Military Construction-VA spending bill (H.R. 6599). The action taken on this bill, however, offers a...
The WasteWatcherIncensed Over Incentives
H.R. 3221, the housing bailout bill that President Bush signed on July 23, 2008 is a $300 billion handout to home builders, mortgage companies who made bad loans and borrowers who took loans for homes they could not afford. The bill was exacerbated...
The WasteWatcherStaying Healthy by Eliminating Waste
When President Bush announced the beginning of the President’s Emergency Plan for Aids Relief (PEPFAR) during his 2003 State of the Union speech, the five-year, $15 billion measure was announced as “the largest commitment ever by any nation for an...
The WasteWatcherSen. Stevens Indicted
On July 29, 2008, it was announced that Sen. Ted Stevens (R-Alaska) had been indicted by the Justice Department on seven counts of making false statements for failing to disclose $250,000 worth of gifts from a contractor.
The WasteWatcherSpratt Flip-Flops on Line-Item Veto
Rep. John Spratt (D-S.C.) chose politics over pork-busting when he switched his vote on the line-item veto bill in June. The ranking Democrat on the House Budget Committee dutifully followed the partisan orders of House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi...
The WasteWatcherAppropriations Gone Awry
Traditionally, summer is appropriations season on Capitol Hill.
The WasteWatcherEarmark Disclosure: Slow but Steady
“Will you disclose the earmarks that you have requested, Representative?"
The WasteWatcherDeadly Earmarks
Earmarks can be deadly, according to Air Force Reserve Maj. Eric Egland. Egland, a counter-terrorism operative, military intelligence officer and Iraq War veteran, wrote an opinion piece in The Washington Times on July 2 asserting that national...
The WasteWatcherGSE Monster Mash-up
On Friday, July 11, the nation’s two largest housing government-sponsored enterprises (GSE), Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, began a precipitous stock slide that stirred a mini-panic on Wall Street and among government officials. There was a frantic...
The WasteWatcherSpecial Interests Before Taxpayers
For many years, the Government Accountability Office and the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Office of the Inspector General have issued report after report pointing out that Medicare pays too much for durable medical equipment (DME...
