As “Sequest-air”—the political fight over the flight delays caused by the Federal Aviation Administration’s (FAA) decision to furlough air traffic controllers—gained momentum yesterday, the Senate passed a bill that would do exactly what Congress and the Administration should have done all along: cut spending but prioritize where the cuts should …
The White House warns that sequestration “would reduce loan guarantees to small businesses by up to $902 million”—loans that it claims are “investments that are helping grow our economy.” Setting this flawed Keynesian line of thinking aside, it’s worth investigating whether or not there is room to reduce spending at …
President Obama’s State of the Union Address tomorrow evening provides him with a chance to explain how he would put the country on a path to a balanced budget. He should talk about entitlement program reforms and meaningful discretionary spending cuts, but he should also target the low-hanging fruit of …
Senator Tom Coburn (R–OK) and others in Congress have repeatedly expressed concerns about “fragmentation, overlap, and duplication” in non-emergency food aid programs administered by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). But a study released this month by the United States Government …
In his oversight report, “Safety at Any Price: Assessing the Impact of Homeland Security Spending in U.S. Cities,” Senator Tom Coburn (R–OK) highlights several examples of cities using homeland security grants for ill-advised expenses. Senator Coburn’s report is an important one and a must read for the media and policymakers. …
According to a new report on financial waste in the Department of Defense, the Pentagon initiated more renewable energy projects in 2010 – the year measured – than any other federal agency, including the Energy Department and the Environmental Protection Agency. Those findings are detailed in a report (embedded below) released Thursday …
The recent layoff of Voice of America (VOA) employees in Russia comes at a time when U.S. international broadcasting is also losing ground to bureaucratic overkill. Despite a continually expanding budget, many mission-critical broadcasting services are being cut, personnel are being let go, and broadcasters are being required to do …
Exotic dancers, robotic squirrels, and a reality TV show in India—your tax dollars supported all of these this year. Two reports just released—“Federal Spending by the Numbers 2012” by The Heritage Foundation and “Waste Book 2012,” a report by the office of Senator Tom Coburn (R–OK)—shed light on these and …
House and Senate Republicans have introduced legislation that would prevent Congress from using commemorative coins to fund pet projects as a creative workaround to the earmark ban. In April, The Heritage Foundation’s sister organization, Heritage Action, first wrote about the commemorative coin process. Currently, Congressmen can introduce commemorative coin bills …
