All things must end; however, federal agencies always seem to find new ways to justify continuing obsolete programs, such as the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Rural Utility Service (RUS).
Recovery Audit Contracting: The Wave of the Future
On the large list of sources of waste in Medicare, improper payments are near the top. According to a February 27, 2013 Government Accountability Office (GAO) report, “In 2012, the Medicare program covered more than 49 million elderly and disabled beneficiaries at an estimated cost of $555 billion, and reported improper payments estimated to be more than $44 billion.” Medicare’s high level of complexity and susceptibility to improper payments are among the reasons that the GAO designates Medicare as a high-risk area. One method that has proven successful in reducing improper payments is the increased usage of recovery audit contractors (RACs).
Software Management Necessary to Save Taxpayer Dollars
On May 10, 2013, Citizens Against Government Waste hosted a briefing on “Saving Taxpayer Dollars through Better Software Management’ to bring light to the need for sound software procurement policy, particularly in these times of fiscal constraint. The panelists were the former Department of Homeland Security Chief Information Officer and former Chief Information Officer for the Aviation Traffic Organization at the Federal Aviation Administration Steven I. Cooper, and Eric Cho, a procurement policy analyst for the Department of Homeland Security currently on assignment with the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform. The event was moderated by this author.
Another IRS Box-Office Hit!
We’ve heard a lot about the IRS’s over-the-top targeting and harassment of conservative and tea party groups and how the agency delayed the groups’ applications for non-profit status. But the hits just keep coming for the IRS. This past weekend, we were treated to the spectacle of IRS employees doing a tax-payer funded line dance […]
Forever Red in Illinois
As the Illinois legislature winds up the 2013 session by creating a new $750,000 “Forever Green Illinois Program” (it’s really there on pp. 8-9 of the 284-page budget bill) that would fund the “maintenance and beautification of greenery,” including grass, weeds, trees, shrubs, bushes, and plants on state or local government property, elected officials should also consider adopting a new official […]
Uptick in Part Timers Linked to Obamacare
Trend is Toward Fewer Hours Not More Jobs First, let me offer congratulations to the 165,000 families whose personal unemployment rate went from 100% to 0%, always a joyous event, both in terms of economics, as well as self-worth and esteem, during the last month! Unfortunately, it is widely estimated that the minimum average monthly […]
Peeling Back Another Onion
As I wrote last week, HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius has gotten herself into some hot water concerning her solicitation for donations for non-profit groups that will help with the implementation of Obamacare. She asked for donations from corporations, some of which are regulated by HHS, and foundations. Reuters reports the non-profit “Enroll America” seems to […]
Show Me the Money
The Washington Post had an interesting column a few days ago. It seems Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Kathleen Sebelius is asking for more money from health industry officials to help implement Obamacare since Congress is refusing to provide more funds. While the effort is caged as asking for “donations” it does not take […]
We Agree with David Axelrod
Every once in a while a politician or political operative says something with which everyone can agree. So today, for the first time, all of us at CAGW agree with David Axelrod to the extent that he acknowledged that the government is too big. Obviously we don’t agree that the size of the government excuses […]
Nothing New Under the IRS Sun
By now I am sure you have heard that the IRS targeted and harassed Tea Party and conservative groups that were trying to obtain non-profit status. If a group used words like “tea party” or “patriot” in their organization’s name or the phrase “making America a better place to live” it was enough to raise […]