On Thursday, the Senate Judiciary Committee voted to favorably report a bill that would require the Supreme Court to allow television coverage of its arguments (S. 1945). Currently, only a limited number of citizens are able to see the court’s sessions in person. Audio files of proceedings are released after the fact, but are notRead… Read more »
House Democrats unveiled The DISCLOSE 2012 Act (HR 4010, not up on THOMAS yet) today, a crucial step toward transparency to address the corrupting influence unlimited, secret corporate and union money is having on our elections and our elected officials. Shortly before the second anniversary of the Supreme Court’s disastrous Citizens United decision, the SunlightRead… Read more »
The company benefiting from today’s Nuclear Regulatory Commission decision to approve the construction of the first new nuclear plant in the U.S. in over three decades is an influential powerhouse in Washington. Southern Company, a power company based in Atlanta, has spent $130 million lobbying the federal government since 1998, ranking 17th among all organizations,Read… Read more »
Congress may be moving forward on the public safety broadband network, but some Governors say that there isn’t enough involvement from state officials – the primary users of the proposed network. Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley (D) and Wyoming Gov. Matthew Mead (R), co-chairmen of the homeland security committee of the National Governors Association (NGA), haveRead… Read more »
Will the debate over the Nation’s economy in this election year reduce the focus of our Congressional friends on our acquisition community? For the past few years their gaze has been pretty unrelenting and it’s arguable whether or not intense Congressional scrutiny is either a good or bad thing. Personally, I think their focus willRead… Read more »
Today’s blog is a little less on humor and more on commentary. Consider it a primer for interpreting some of the political fluff the public will be subject to in this election year. Those who have read my book, Confessions of a Government Man, or listened to my meanderings, know that I have an absoluteRead… Read more »
A record 84 percent of Americans say they disapprove of the way the Congress is doing its job compared with just 13 percent who approve of how things are going, according to a Washington Post/ABC News public opinion poll published on Monday.Research has shown that a primary reason for low approval ratings is that mostRead… Read more »
The budget stalemate back in the spring, the summer debt ceiling debacle, the recent failure of the “super committee,” and the near paralysis over extending the payroll tax cut the are all symptoms of a broken governing system. The non-partisan Peterson-Pew Commission on Budget Reform recently issued a series of recommendations on how to beginRead… Read more »
It’s Friday night, December 16th about 10:00 p.m. and my boss called me to let me know I’d been laid off. “But wait, it’s not midnight yet and the House passed the budget“, I say. “No, if things don’t get passed you can’t come to work on Monday”, he said. So I’m a little ticked,Read… Read more »
As long as I can remember, there has been a vague general rumbling that members of Congress collect exorbitant salaries and outrageous pensions and other benefits. The rumblings have changed form over the years, from idle gossip to organized viral email campaigns, but the substance remains. Despite efforts to spread the truth, many Americans stillRead… Read more »