Wastewatcher, December, 2011
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 Committee” was tasked with finding $1.5 trillion in savings over 10 years. A bipartisan group of 12 representatives and senators were chosen for the job, including Reps. Xavier Becerra (D-Calif.), Jim Clyburn (D-S.C.), Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), Fred Upton (R-Mich.), Dave Camp (R-Mich.), and Jeb Hensarling (R-Texas), and Senators Max Baucus (D-Mont.), John Kerry (D-Mass.), Patty Murray (D-Wash.), Jon Kyl (R-Ariz.), Rob Portman (R-Ohio) and Pat Toomey (R-Pa.).
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 to 50 percent. Four contractors were initially approved to compete for the contract, but two EELVs were eventually selected: Boeing’s Delta IV and Lockheed Martin’s Atlas V.
Congress and the Criminal CLASS
When President Obama signed his contentious healthcare bill, the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA), on March 23, 2010, his administration and a Democratic Congress had spent months convincing many lawmakers, pundits, and voters that expanding subsidized healthcare was not only the right thing to do, but that it would be beneficial for taxpayers in the long term. Fiscal conservatives (including Citizens Against Government Waste) howled that the Congressional Budget Office’s (CBO) 10-year, $210 billion deficit reduction estimate for the bill was wildly overstated. But the CBO is supposed to be a nonpartisan judge, and advocates on both sides of the aisle have long cited its findings as backing for a variety of causes. Accordingly, cries of fuzzy math or budget gimmickry fell on deaf ears.
Time to De-friend Bad Federal Contractors
Waste and fraud among federal government contractors and vendors is nothing new. Congress after Congress has tried to put an end to the abuses to no avail. Although the number of contractors added to the Excluded Parties List System (identifying parties excluded from receiving federal contracts and other benefits, usually as a result of fraudulent or improper behavior) has increased in recent years, an October 2010 Government Accountability Office (GAO) report revealed that the lack of diligence by several federal agencies to root out waste and fraud is costing taxpayers billions of dollars.
Dismantle the USDA’s Milk Marketing Order System
Reports on the progress of Congress’s Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction in its quest to identify $1.2 trillion in savings by November 23, 2011 are decidedly mixed. An open hearing on October 26 yielded some hand-wringing, but little in the way of new information about the final outcome. An October 27, 2011 article in The Hill hints that the committee may be deadlocked.
The Shovel-Ready Jobs Swindle
The money would be spent on a variety of infrastructure projects, such as improved highways, railways, and transit systems. The national infrastructure bank, according to Rep. Rosa DeLauro (D-Conn.), would end up functioning as a “public private partnership like Fannie Mae.” Such a comparison should give taxpayers heartburn.
Zombie Budget: Payments to the Deceased
Halloween is around the corner, which means that in the coming weeks it will be more important than ever to be on the lookout for signs of the zombie apocalypse. Should those signs start to appear, any possible advantage for the living over the undead will be of the utmost importance. Tragically, the zombies have a head start in gathering resources for any impending battle, and their chief financial backer appears to be the federal government. Because when it comes to giving money to dead people, the government is in a class of its own, and while it might be tempting to forgive the feds for their confusion – the latest rash of imbursements for the dead involves federal employees, who are sometimes difficult to distinguish from zombies – taxpayers surely deserve better.
Without Major Reforms, SSDI Program Headed for Insolvency
According to a June 14, 2011 Government Accountability Office (GAO) report, the Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) trust fund is on track to run out of money by 2018. Although the SSDI’s financial woes have been exacerbated by a dramatic increase in claims resulting from a weak economy, the program’s problems run much deeper.
To Honor The Fallen, Stop Wasting Money
When the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) was established in response to the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, lawmakers decreed that the new House and Senate Homeland Security Appropriations Subcommittees would not accept earmark requests. The decision to keep earmarking out of DHS funding decisions seemed to show that members of Congress truly believed in protecting national security. It also made the point that elected officials in Washington know how easy it is for opportunistic legislators to leverage a crisis for parochial benefit.