The talk of the defense world is the budget — specifically, how to shrink it and what will be cut. Given the austerity pressures, it’s remarkable that a costly program targeted for cancellation can get a new government check for a quarter of a billion dollars .... Read more»
Three Republican groups have formed a super PAC called “Crossroads Generation” and given it $750,000 in seed money in an attempt to attract young voters, a population that has traditionally eluded the GOP.... Read more»
We’ll be hearing a lot from politicians this summer and fall about the urgency of dealing with Medicare spending. If we’re fortunate, some courageous candidates will call for renewed debate on a provision of the health care reform bill that had once enjoyed bipartisan support.... Read more»
South Carolina, Indiana and Colorado have all given the free-market group a pass on registering or reporting lobbying expenditures.... Read more»
You’ve heard it before. Let’s deep-six ObamaCare and replace it with sure-fire free-market solutions: tort reform, allow insurance to be sold across state lines and encourage people to set up health savings accounts. Here’s the problem: there is mounting evidence that all three of these strategies not only are ineffective but may actually be making matters worse.... Read more»
The Defense Department has inadequately protected from reprisals whistleblowers who have reported wrongdoing, according to an internal Pentagon report, and critics are calling for action to be taken against those who have been negligent.... Read more»
While the federal government has been eager to prosecute officials for leaks of classified information, the government itself has lost track of hundreds of boxes filled with classified documents at its main records storage site, the Washington National Records Center.... Read more»
As U.S. heads for the door in Afghanistan, deep corruption persists in the country, and can easily undermine the success of U.S. development efforts there. A report expressed concern about continuing thefts of fuel and cash, the shortcomings of local security forces, bribery of local and U.S. officials, and contractors that fail to deliver.... Read more»
The Pentagon really has no idea if its missile defense systems will do their job, because over the past several decades it hasn’t concocted validated targets to test them, fielded proven interceptors, or even collected all the data needed to assess their early performance, the GAO said.... Read more»
South of the border, war is raging with guns mostly supplied by merchants in the United States. Mexico has estimated that almost 50,000 people have been killed since 2006, a toll that has made its top officials irate about the persistent flow of weapons south.... Read more»2
The Rockefeller provision of President Obama’s health care reform law will require consumer rebates from insurers who didn’t spend enough on care.... Read more»
Super PACs have not led to a tsunami of contributions flowing from the treasuries of Fortune 500 corporations, contrary to expectations — at least not yet anyway.
... Read more»
The Department of Labor reported Wednesday that 4,690 U.S. workers suffered fatal injuries in 2010, a 3 percent increase from 2009.... Read more»
The Navy claims the Littoral Combat Ship represents its future, but watchdogs see serious flaws in design. Test runs caused cracked hulls that forced the ship to limit its speed; engines that simply failed; and over 600 failures of equipment led to dry-dockings.... Read more»
The American Legislative Exchange Council — facing pressure for backing voter ID and ‘Stand Your Ground’ laws — has announced it is eliminating the task force that deals with such issues.... Read more»
Beer and wine wholesalers have pumped substantial cash into the campaigns of several American Legislative Exchange Council politicians who have sponsored voter ID bills in their states.... Read more»
12644443
