While not unexpected, it was still disappointing to see California Governor Jerry Brown (D) sign into law Senate Bill 822, creating the most restrictive set of rules for internet service providers (ISPs) in U.S. history. California has often attempted to set standards for the rest of the nation in everything from the environment to technology, […]
FCC Commissioner Offers Commonsense Advice to Rural Utilities Service
Publicly-funded broadband overbuild is an ongoing problem across the country. It is far easier to deploy new services alongside existing infrastructure than to build-out to those who remain in unserved areas. On March 23, 2018, President Trump signed into law H.R. 1625, the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2018, which funds the government through September 30, […]
States Must Stop Diverting 9-1-1 Fees
The National Emergency Number Association estimates that 240 million 9-1-1 calls are made each year, with more than 80 percent of those calls originating from wireless devices in some areas of the country. The 9-1-1 emergency systems, including fire and rescue operations, are funded, in part, through fees imposed on consumer telephone bills. Unfortunately, over […]
House Subcommittee Concerned over “Too Big to Fail” Mentality at NASA
On Thursday, June 14, 2018, the House of Representative’s Subcommittee on Space met to discuss the rising cost and schedule overruns at the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). These overruns were attributed to what NASA Inspector General Paul Martin described as a “too big to fail” optimism at the agency, lack of consequences for […]
Creating a SMARTER Merger Review Process
The ongoing saga of the AT&T/Time Warner merger, and the April 29, 2018 announcement by T-Mobile and Sprint that they would begin merger proceedings underpin the need for a streamlined, consistent merger application process. Federal regulators must provide companies with procedural certainty and clarity that will benefit not only the companies involved but also consumers. Currently, the […]
CBO Projects Strong Economic Growth in 2018 and 2019
Taxes, Budget, Appropriations
Federal IT Procurement Gone Awry
The concept that federal information technology (IT) procurement should be technology and vendor neutral is among the best practices for federal government agencies. However, when a large federal agency issues an exceptionally large cloud contract to a predetermined vendor for a specific technology solution without competitive bidding, such a contract is neither technology nor vendor […]
Myths and Realities: Earmarks
Reality: Earmarks are not the answer to mitigating the extreme partisanship that exists in Washington and are have nothing to do with getting things done.
Texas Should Consider Using the Rainy Day Fund Sooner Rather than Later
What will likely turn out to be the largest natural disaster in Texas’ history swept ashore on August 25, 2017. Hurricane Harvey was the rainiest tropical storm in history to hit the U.S. mainland, dumping more than 60 inches of rain in Groves and Nederland; and more than 50 inches in Friendswood; near Santa Fe, […]
Virginia Continues Move to Left
On November 7, 2017, Virginians elevated Lieutenant Governor Ralph Northam (D) to the governorship. Democrats also won the other two statewide elected offices and, surprising most forecasters, picked up at least 15 seats in the Virginia House of Delegates, bringing their total to 49 out of 100 seats, with three recounts likely taking place in […]