The federal government is expected to spend $81 billion in information technology (IT) in fiscal year 2014. Management and effectively monitoring IT investments is critical during this time when budgets are constrained by sequestration.
Farm Bill Reform: Waiting on Rain During a Drought
The 112th Congress made progress toward enacting a new Farm Bill, but eventually settled on a one-year extension. In the 113th Congress, the House and Senate passed their own versions of the Farm Bill, but unfortunately for taxpayers, the bills are still rife with profligate subsidies and outdated programs.
CBO Releases “Options for Reducing the Deficit 2014-2023”
The Congressional Budget Office released “Options for Reducing the Deficit 2014-2023” last week. The CBO periodically writes a report that provides a list of policy options of where Congress can take action to reduce annual budget deficits that add to the debt and provides the budgetary effects of those actions. This year’s list of policy […]
Return to Regular Order Budget Process
On October 16, 2013, President Obama agreed to Congress’s plan to fund the government through January 15, 2014 and raise the debt ceiling through February 7, 2014. The deal also included instructions to House and Senate leaders to appoint negotiators to meet and produce a long-term budget plan by December 13, 2013. The budget conferees met for the first time on October 30, 2013 to discuss how an agreement could be reached to reconcile the two chambers’ budgets.
Put a Fork In it! Earmarks are Dead … Almost.
In a November 4, 2013 blog published in The Hill titled “Congress should return to responsible earmark policy,” former Rep. George Nethercutt (R-Wa.) claimed that failure to do so would create “purist legislators who largely disdain compromise, resist seniority, and refuse Congressional earmarks.” Rep. Nethercutt is correct that while earmarks account for a small amount […]
And Here’s To You, Mrs. Lautenberg!
The recent action by Congress to provide a death gratuity to the widow of the late Senator Frank Lautenberg (D-NJ) has raised a few eyebrows. Specifically, the continuing resolution (CR) passed by Congress and signed into law by President Obama in the late evening hours of Wednesday, October 16, included $174,000 – the equivalent of […]
A Government That is Too Big
More and more news reports are surfacing about the overreach by the Obama Administration with regard to the partial government shutdown. Remember, some 82% of government spending is exempt from the shutdown. It is the White House that ultimately determines what is essential and stays open and what doesn’t in the federal government. First a […]
A Clean CR is a Dirty Rotten Shame
On the October 2nd edition of Fox News Channel’s Special Report, columnist Charles Krauthammer decried the Democrats’ disingenuous insistence on a “clean CR,” implying that such an approach is actually a ratification of failure. On the one hand, it would underscore the fact that both chambers of Congress had failed in one of their most […]
Legislation Puts Recovery Auditing, and Taxpayers, at Risk
Government waste, fraud, and abuse are a scourge on American taxpayers and a multi-billion dollar insult to the federal budget, but preventing improper payments, particularly in Medicare, is now running into roadblocks despite being a rare example of success. Medicare providers, particularly hospitals, which have for years received billions in improper overpayments, now fully appreciate that new auditing and recovery techniques dramatically inhibit the flow of those overpayments. More importantly, officials managing an actuarially and fiscally compromised Medicare program now have the ability, motivation, and authority to demand that providers repay those funds.
An Early Christmas in Washington
Fiscal year (FY) 2013 just ended and federal agencies enjoyed a shopping spree.
This spending binge occurred because at the end of every fiscal year agencies are incentivized to spend the remaining money in their budgets in order to justify a similar or increased budget for the following year. This phenomenon, known as “spend it or lose it,” leads not only to wasteful spending, but to poor investments and awful management at the federal level.