EconomyNews
Congress Passes Huge Budget, but It’s Not Trump’s
The Senate followed the House by passing a $1.3 trillion spending bill early Friday morning that funds the government through September, after taking 11 hours… Read More
EconomyNews
11 Reactions From Conservatives Unhappy With the Massive Government Spending Bill
Conservative lawmakers are disgruntled and outraged by the $1.3 trillion omnibus spending bill passed by Congress. The Senate passed the massive package, 65-32, early Friday, following… Read More
EconomyNews
3 Major Problems Conservatives Have With the Government Spending Bill
Major conservative priorities have gone missing in the spending bill to fund the government through September, House lawmakers say. Rep. Mark Meadows, R-N.C., chairman of… Read More
EconomyCommentary
These 5 Horrible Bureaucrats Beat the Clock and Kept Their Pensions
The firing of FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe days before his retirement was a rare case of justice. Both the Justice Department inspector general and… Read More
SecurityNews
Veterans Affairs Chief Alleges Hack of Email, but Agency Says No Evidence of It
In an interview, Department of Veterans Affairs Secretary David Shulkin detailed new claims that his agency was hacked or spoofed, but the VA released a statement… Read More
PoliticsCommentary
Trump’s Budget Takes a First Swing at Bloated Bureaucracies. Here’s What More Needs to Be Done.
Early in his administration, President Donald Trump signed an executive order directing all 15 of the departments of the federal government to submit plans within… Read More
PoliticsCommentary
Trump Is Right. It’s Time to Give Agency Heads More Discretion With Employees.
Among the many sensible proposals President Donald Trump called for during his first State of the Union address, one certainly deserves more attention than it… Read More
EconomyCommentary
7 Reasons Earmarks Are a Very Bad Idea
Earmarks could be making a comeback. Before a Republican-led Congress banned earmarks back in 2011, lawmakers used earmarks to send funds directly to specific projects… Read More
SecurityCommentary
Why Congress Needs to Reform Disaster Relief Spending
In the coming weeks, Congress is set to vote on a spending bill that will include funding for federal disaster relief. Following a year of… Read More
EconomyNews
1 of Every 5 Government Employees Has a 6-Figure Salary
The U.S. government pays employees a total of about $1 million per minute, according to a watchdog group’s report on the sprawling federal bureaucracy. Looking… Read More
EconomyCommentary
How Big Is Your State’s Share of $6 Trillion in Unfunded Pension Liabilities?
Despite a solid year for investment returns, the unfunded liabilities of state and local government pension plans increased by $433 billion, the most recent estimate… Read More
EconomyNews
Q&A: Former CFPB Employee on Why There Aren’t More Republicans in the Agency
Ron Rubin, a lawyer and writer who used to work for the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, discusses the nature of the federal agency with The Daily… Read More
PoliticsCommentary
Bloated Federal Agencies Have Become the Norm. Here’s the Key to Sizing Them Down.
In March, President Donald Trump issued an executive order to spur a comprehensive reorganization of the executive branch. It instructed each federal department head to… Read More
InternationalCommentary
America Needs a Stronger State Department, Not an ‘Independent’ Foreign Aid Agency
President Donald Trump has ordered the Department of State and the U.S. Agency for International Development to come up with a plan to reorganize themselves… Read More
EconomyNews
Citing National Debt, Need for Reform, 69 GOP Lawmakers Vote Against Disaster Relief Bill
Sixty-nine Republican lawmakers voted against a $36.5 billion bill for disaster relief, citing concerns about the growing national debt and the lack of reforms for… Read More
EconomyNews
Underreported: What Happened When Government Tried to Fix a Coal Town
PAINTSVILLE, Ky.—When Ben Larrabee heard about a new government-funded job training program for the digital age that promised to turn “coal country” into “code country,”… Read More
EconomyNews
Lawmaker Says Congress Will ‘Have to Be on Our Toes’ After Failing to Scrap $900 Million ‘Earmark’
After failing to stop what he called an “earmark,” one Republican lawmaker is preparing to fight the possible return of pork-barrel spending in Congress. Rep…. Read More
EconomyNews
Lawmaker Seeks to Derail $900M for Amtrak Project as Earmark
A North Carolina congressman is working to stop $900 million in a transportation funding bill bound for an Amtrak project in New Jersey that he… Read More
EconomyNews
Government Has No Clue How Much Land It Bought With $815 Million
Interior Department officials have no idea how much land they bought for $815 million, nor if the properties are being used for their intended purpose,… Read More
EconomyNews
EXCLUSIVE: $2 Million Obama-Era Program Gets 17 People Jobs
A government-funded job training program that promised to turn hundreds of residents of Kentucky’s coal country into computer coders so far has spent $2 million… Read More
EnergyCommentary
House Spending Bill Takes a Small Step Toward Reforming ‘Buy America’ Policy
The House Appropriations Committee is set to mark up its interior appropriations bill for fiscal year 2018. This markup could lead to a slight revision… Read More
EconomyNews
GOP Lawmakers Say Their Budget Plan Spotlights ‘Path Back to Solvency’
The House’s largest caucus of conservatives is throwing its weight behind a budget proposal that it says would cut more government spending and advance conservative… Read More
EconomyNews
From Cactus Theater to the Met, US Government Pours Hundreds of Millions Into Well-Heeled Arts
U.S. taxpayers have paid $90,000 for a theater “performance” in which people commune with a tall cactus for an hour in the middle of an… Read More
InternationalCommentary
This Trump Administration Move Could Have Led to Higher Costs, Fewer Fed From US Food Aid
A recent Reuters story reported that the Trump administration is drafting an executive order that would require 100 percent of U.S. food assistance to be… Read More
PoliticsNews
Why Conservatives Put Trust in Trey Gowdy as House’s Corruption Fighter
Conservative leaders say they’re confident the new chairman of a House of Representatives panel that targets corruption will dedicate himself to reviewing executive branch actions,… Read More
SocietyNews
ICE Spent Tens of Thousands of Dollars Sending Officials to Tolerance Seminar
Immigration and Customs Enforcement spent tens of thousands of dollars to send its officials to a “tolerance seminar” put on by the Simon Wiesenthal Center, a… Read More
EconomyNews
Rex Tillerson Plans Major Staff Cuts in State Department Restructuring
The State Department is planning to reduce staffing by thousands as Secretary of State Rex Tillerson moves forward with efforts to streamline the agency that… Read More
EconomyNews
Federal Agencies Spent $13.5 Million on Vehicles They May Not Use
Two federal agencies spent $13.5 million to maintain 2,441 vehicles they may not need, a congressional watchdog reported Tuesday. “Given the billions of dollars spent… Read More
EnergyNews
Taxpayers Foot Bill for $14,799 in Gym Memberships
A Las Vegas-based Environmental Protection Agency official used his government credit card to purchase $14,799 worth of gym memberships. A conservative advocacy group released documents purporting… Read More
EnergyNews
Interior Employees Paid $6 Million While Facing Misconduct Investigations
Department of the Interior officials were paid $6 million while on extended administrative leave—often while under investigation for misconduct—without documented approval, a government watchdog reported… Read More
