Citizens Against Government Waste America's #1 Taxpayer Watchdog

On Wednesday, two important healthcare bills were introduced in the Senate to replace the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA), or Obamacare.  One bill, introduced by Sens. Bill Cassidy (R-La.), Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), Dean Heller (R-Nev.), and Ron Johnson (R-Wisc.), would amend the healthcare reform legislation that passed the House in May, the American Health Care Act.  That bill was sent to the Senate and has languished in that chamber since the end of July, in spite of several attempts to address senators' concerns by amending it.

In political patois, “kicking the can down the road” connotes procrastination.  As long as the proverbial can is kicked “down the road,” rather than picked up, then the proper disposition of the derelict container is put off until some future point in time.  And much like the (equally proverbial) kicker’s aversion to taking definitive action on a relatively straightforward task, the U.S. Congress is composed of 535 “can kickers,” given their predilection to avoid taking action until the last possible minute.  On Tuesday, September 5, 2017, when the current Congress reconvenes after its annual August recess, it will have less than a month to complete several “must pass” items.

Over the last decade, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has been the poster child for government waste, employee misconduct, and job-killing policies.  This pitiful legacy offers new EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt a golden opportunity to turn around the troubled agency.

President Donald Trump has the authority to fill more than 4,000 executive positions, of which 1,212 require Senate confirmation.  According to a joint study by The Washington Post and the Partnership for Public Service, as of August 22, 2017, the Senate has confirmed 124 Trump nominees, with 277 nominations pending.  By comparison, President George W. Bush had 294 confirmations, with 414 pending nominations by August 22, 2001; while President Obama reached 310 confirmations and 433 pending nominations by August 22, 2009.  The confirmation of less than half the number of Bush and Obama nominees has hindered the advancement of President Trump’s agenda.