MedWorm provides a medical RSS filtering service. Over 6000 RSS medical sources are combined and output via different filters. This feed contains the latest medical blog items that have been tagged with 'appropriations'. Sat, 03 Sep 2011 02:55:32 +0100 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4934099&cid=t_229965_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2Ft-s3UFvw6Jg%2F By Sallie JamesWe’re another step closer to putting a shameful chapter of America’s trade policy behind us, with the good news that the House today approved (by a margin of 223-197, roll call here) an amendment offered by Rep. Ron Kind (D-WI) and Rep. Jeff Flake (R-AZ) to prohibit the use of funds in the appropriations bill to provide payment to the Brazil Cotton Institute: the administration signed a deal last year with Brazil to send $147 million a year of taxpayers money to Brazil so they would look the other way while the United States continued to subsidize our cotton farmers illegally. Mr Kind and Mr Flake rightly argued that was an egregious use of taxpayer money. Some lawmakers agitated against stopping the payments in case it sparked a trade war, but the answer ... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4934099 Thu, 16 Jun 2011 20:02:54 +0100 4934099 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4911464&cid=t_229965_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FYbQmO1Im2Eg%2F By Tad DeHavenLast week, the House passed a $40.6 billion Homeland Security appropriations bill for fiscal 2012. The Constitutional Authority Statement for the bill cited Congress’s authority to appropriate money and the General Welfare Clause. Citing the General Welfare Clause might be appropriate for activities associated with the common defense of the nation. However, it is not an appropriate justification for something like the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s Assistance to Firefighters Grant program, which distributes federal taxpayer money to local fire departments. Firefighting is a purely local concern and should be funded by those who benefit from a local fire department’s services. Why in the world am I paying federal taxes in Pennsylvania to a bureaucracy in Washingto... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4911464 Tue, 07 Jun 2011 12:40:45 +0100 4911464 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4893417&cid=t_229965_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FD9pbEbw8h1s%2F By Sallie JamesHeartening news from the Appropriations Committee yesterday: they voted to cut aid to farmers generally, and to make significant changes to an egregious cotton program. But first, some background.  You’ll recall the embarrassing deal made by the Obama administration last year to head off Brazil’s right to impede American exports in retaliation for WTO-illegal cotton support. The United States is, in other words, now sending almost $150m worth of “technical assistance” and “capacity building” funds to Brazil, just so we can continue to subsidize American cotton growers without penalty (so much for U.S. promotion of the rule of law in international commercial relations). Rep. Ron Kind (D-WI) tried to end that deal earlier this year, but... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4893417 Thu, 02 Jun 2011 13:46:05 +0100 4893417 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4862504&cid=t_229965_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2F_TuAm-tfiww%2F By Tad DeHavenHarold Camping is “flabbergasted” that the world did not end on May 21st as he had predicted. I think it’s because he didn’t account for the devastation that will be wrought by Republican budget cuts for fiscal 2012, which doesn’t begin until October 1st. Therefore, Camping’s new predication that the world will end on October 21st is much more plausible. Yesterday the House Appropriations Committee’s subcommittee that deals with agriculture and nutrition programs passed its bill, which will now be considered by the full committee. According to the committee’s numbers, discretionary funding for these programs in 2012 would be $17.2 billion – a $2.7 billion reduction versus 2011. According to a statement released by the subcommittee’s ranking member, Sam Far... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4862504 Wed, 25 May 2011 20:28:46 +0100 4862504 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4820809&cid=t_229965_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FwNPlaBvH9Rs%2F By Jim HarperThe fiscal 2012 Department of Homeland Security spending bill is starting to make its way through the process, and the House Appropriations Committee said in a release today that “the bill does not provide $76 million requested by the President for 275 additional advanced inspection technology (AIT) scanners nor the 535 staff requested to operate them.” If the House committee’s approach carries the day, there won’t be 275 more strip-search machines in our nation’s airports. No word on whether the committee will defund the operations of existing strip-search machines. Saving money and reducing privacy invasion? Sounds like a win-win. House Approps Strips TSA of Strip-Search Funds is a post from Cato @ Liberty - Cato Institute Blog (Source: Cato-at-... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4820809 Fri, 13 May 2011 19:04:39 +0100 4820809 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4734054&cid=t_229965_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FEH3RwAyDrEA%2F By David BoazThe District of Columbia pays outside lobbyists hundreds of thousands of dollars, but its top in-house lobbyist, who heads a staff of nine, doesn’t know about them: The District pays outside lobbyists, who were hired when Adrian M. Fenty (D) served as mayor, but their work has attracted little notice. U.S. Senate records show that Mitch Butler — a former Interior Department official in the Bush administration — has lobbied on behalf of the District since October 2009 on “public lands issues” and “land development.” Through the end of 2010, the city paid Butler at least $100,000 for his efforts. Separately, the D.C. Office of the Deputy Mayor for Planning & Economic Development has paid the firm Van Ness Feldman $200,000 since November 2009 for “Anacos... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4734054 Wed, 20 Apr 2011 18:51:49 +0100 4734054 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4482740&cid=t_229965_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FtfgalpOarHY%2F By Jim HarperIt's a good thing for Congress to have an open debate on the bill that would fund the government from March 4th through the September 30 end of the 2011 fiscal year. The alternative is for the bill to be written and the political log-rolling to be done entirely behind the scenes. Open debate of the bill and amendments requires at least some level of discussion about various projects and programs rather than spending decisions being based solely on raw political power. And it gives the public some chance to have a say. The debate may include an amendment to strip funding from the REAL ID Act, our deplorable national ID law. As I wrote here before, money spent on REAL ID is waste. That money should be put to better uses, including deficit reduction. No future money should go to ... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4482740 Wed, 16 Feb 2011 14:19:31 +0100 4482740 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4472937&cid=t_229965_86_f&fid=34445&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwomenshealthnews.wordpress.com%2F2011%2F02%2F13%2Fsunday-news-round-up-attacks-on-reproductive-rights-edition%2F Three things this week that I think are important to focus on for advocates of reproductive rights and justice: HR3, HR358, and proposed cuts to Title X family planning funding and other women’s health services. I wrote about HR3 and HR358 at Our Bodies Our Blog this week. There, I note that I particularly appreciated the succinct explanations provided by Jennifer Steinhauer in the New York Times, excerpted below. 1) On HR3: One bill, the “No Taxpayer Funding for Abortion Act,” would eliminate tax breaks for private employers who provide health coverage if their plans offer abortion services, and would forbid women who use a flexible spending plan to use pre-tax dollars for abortions. Those restrictions would go well beyond current law prohibiting the use of federal money for ab... Women's Health News blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4472937 Sun, 13 Feb 2011 17:36:07 +0100 4472937 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4322491&cid=t_229965_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FB1rlY0rXtbM%2F By Daniel J. MitchellGrousing about the GOP’s timidity in the battle against big government will probably become an ongoing theme over the next few months. Two items don’t bode well for fiscal discipline. First, it appears that Republicans didn’t really mean it when they promised to cut $100 billion of so-called discretionary spending as part of their pledge. According to the New York Times, As they prepare to take power on Wednesday, Republican leaders are scaling back that number by as much as half, aides say, because the current fiscal year, which began Oct. 1, will be nearly half over before spending cuts could become law. This is hardly good news, particularly since the discretionary portion of the budget contains entire departments, such as Housing and Urban Devel... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4322491 Fri, 07 Jan 2011 21:37:59 +0100 4322491 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4265680&cid=t_229965_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2F9OUF4u0l76g%2F By Daniel J. MitchellThere’s a lot of attention being paid to yesterday’s landslide vote in the House to prevent a big tax increase next year. If you’re a glass-half-full optimist, you will be celebrating the good news for taxpayers. If you’re a glass-half-empty pessimist, you will be angry because the bill also contains provisions to increase the burden of government spending as well as some utterly corrupt tax loopholes added to the legislation so politicians could get campaign cash from special interest groups. If you want some unambiguously good news, however, ignore the tax deal and celebrate the fact that Senator Harry Reid had to give up his attempt to enact a pork-filled, $1 trillion-plus spending bill. This “omnibus appropriation” not only had a... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4265680 Fri, 17 Dec 2010 16:09:25 +0100 4265680 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4245290&cid=t_229965_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FB3kZLGLHMRY%2F By Tad DeHavenHouse Republican leaders went with Rep. Hal Rogers (R-KY) – a.k.a. “The Prince of Pork” – to chair the House Appropriations Committee. As I wrote last week, the prospect of Rogers chairing Appropriations is about as inspiring as re-heated meatloaf when it comes to his potential for pushing serious spending reforms. Republican leaders in the House chose to ignore the concerns of tea party activists and other proponents of limited government, who were more supportive of Rep. Jack Kingston’s (R-GA) dark-horse push for the chairmanship. Kingston’s plan to “change the culture” on Appropriations offered a lot of positive ideas suggesting that he was more in tune with the voters that gave Republicans the majority. Politico reported that Kingston received “the cold ... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4245290 Thu, 09 Dec 2010 15:30:42 +0100 4245290 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4237869&cid=t_229965_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FxX0pzhYgrJs%2F By Tad DeHavenIn-coming House Speaker John Boehner’s endorsement of Rep. Jeff Flake (R-AZ) for a seat on the chamber’s appropriations committee means that it’s probably a done deal. Flake is one of the few policymakers who actually lives up to the fiscal conservative label. Thus, Flake’s appointment to a committee that many members think only exists to increase spending on special interests would be welcome news. Boehner also endorsed a suggestion from Rep. Jeff Kingston (R-GA), who has mounted a dark-horse campaign to chair the appropriations committee, to create a subcommittee focused on investigating federal programs. Flake would chair this subcommittee, and according to a release on his website, he has already lined up worthy targets like Head Start and farm subsidies. How much... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4237869 Tue, 07 Dec 2010 20:47:18 +0100 4237869 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4219734&cid=t_229965_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FiA6aPbmuWSk%2F By Tad DeHavenAn indicator of the incoming House Republican majority’s seriousness about cutting spending will be which members the party selects to head the various committees. Many of the members in line to chair committees leave a lot to be desired from a limited government perspective (see here and here). In particular, the top candidates in line to chair the critical House Appropriations Committee, Reps. Jerry Lewis (R-Calif.) and Hal Rogers (R-Ky.), are about as inspiring as re-heated meatloaf when it comes to their potential for pushing serious spending reforms. According to the Wall Street Journal, appropriator Jack Kingston (R-Ga.), is eyeing the chairman’s gavel even though he’s only fifth in line in terms of seniority. Kingston has put together a spending restraint plan in... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4219734 Wed, 01 Dec 2010 15:35:10 +0100 4219734 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4013151&cid=t_229965_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FFKV1Qhml-8k%2F By Walter OlsonEconomists can actually measure the value of insider connections: [L]obbyists connected to US Senators suffer an average 24% drop in generated revenue when their previous employer leaves the Senate. The decrease in revenue is out of line with pre-existing trends, it is discontinuous around the period in which the connected Senator exits Congress and it persists in the long-term. … Measured in terms of median revenues per ex-staffer turned lobbyist, this estimate indicates that the exit of a Senator leads to approximately a $177,000 per year fall in revenues for each affiliated lobbyist. The fall is steeper, the researchers find, when the departing member of Congress sat on a powerful committee such as Appropriations, Senate Finance, or (on the House side) Ways and Mea... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4013151 Tue, 28 Sep 2010 12:40:51 +0100 4013151 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3925054&cid=t_229965_136_f&fid=37846&url=http%3A%2F%2Fhealthinfoispower.wordpress.com%2F2010%2F09%2F01%2Fcall-to-action-protect-expand-u-s-federal-ovarian-cancer-research-funding%2F Do you live in AL, CA, HI, IL, IA, KS, KY, MD, MI, MO, NH, ND, PA, TX, UT, VT, WA or WI? If so, one of your Senators sits on the U.S. Senate Defense Appropriations subcommittee that determines how much funding is given to the Department of Defense Ovarian Cancer Research Program. Ask your [...] (Source: Libby's H*O*P*E*) Libby's H*O*P*E* blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3925054 Wed, 01 Sep 2010 17:42:46 +0100 3925054 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3911687&cid=t_229965_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FFS6JoVLjfkU%2F By Jim HarperJudging by his earmark disclosures, Senator Jeff Bingaman (D-NM) seems to have said “To hell with you!” to the Senate Appropriations Committee and its earmarking rules. But the committee is doling out money to him anyway. It seems rules were made to be broken. In March, the committee issued a press release reiterating its rules about earmarks—funding requests for special projects that go into Congress’ annual spending bills. Among other things, the rules say: The Appropriations Committee will consider no request for spending on congressionally directed items … unless a description of the items proposed—including their purpose, location, the recipient of the funds, and an explanation of why the spending is in the interest of the taxpayers&#82... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3911687 Fri, 27 Aug 2010 13:53:29 +0100 3911687 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3790691&cid=t_229965_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FMDYzvOusebg%2F By Jim HarperWhile Washington, D.C. and the newstalk-osphere are gripped by the story of forced-out USDA bureaucrat Shirley Sherrod, six appropriations subcommittees have advanced FY 2011 spending bills that will collectively spend over $4,000 per U.S. family. (They’ll get to the big ones later.) Are you paying attention? What are you paying attention to? There are important social and political kernels within the Sherrod story (and “Journolist”), but in the context of Washington policymaking, they might just be distraction. (Source: Cato-at-liberty) Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3790691 Mon, 26 Jul 2010 15:12:30 +0100 3790691 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3757850&cid=t_229965_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2Fg0Zva-ruO1Q%2F By Tad DeHavenA recent paper by Veronique de Rugy examines how policymakers use various budgeting gimmicks to increase spending and obscure liabilities. One particularly abusive mechanism is the designation of supplemental spending as an “emergency.” The emergency designation makes it easier for policymakers to skirt budgetary rules, particularly “pay-as-you-go” (PAYGO) requirements. The following chart from the paper shows how supplemental spending, most of which was designated as “emergency,” has taken off in the last decade: As the chart notes, much of the increase is attributable to supplemental appropriations for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. The Bush administration was rightly criticized by analysts across the ideological spectrum for funding the wars outside of the ... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3757850 Thu, 15 Jul 2010 16:59:40 +0100 3757850 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3382798&cid=t_229965_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2Fw1FPc-k5bMk%2F By David BoazFess Parker, the actor who portrayed both Davy Crockett and Daniel Boone in classic television shows, has died at the age of 85. In his honor, I offer this version of Parker singing the theme song “The Ballad of Davy Crockett“: And more substantively, I note that Col. David Crockett served three terms in Congress from Tennessee, where he is best known for delivering a speech known as “Not Yours to Give.” In response to a proposal for an appropriation to benefit the widow of a naval officer, Rep. Crockett said: I have as much respect for the memory of the deceased, and as much sympathy for the sufferings of the living, if suffering there be, as any man in this House, but we must not permit our respect for the dead or our sympathy for a part of the livin... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3382798 Thu, 18 Mar 2010 21:07:38 +0100 3382798 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3118855&cid=t_229965_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2Ffl_ix-24x2k%2F By Tad DeHavenThe White House is hinting that its fiscal year 2011 budget due out in February will be “austere.” White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs didn’t provide any specifics but recently said that “it will not look as it has in the past.” Well that’s a relief because the FY2010 appropriations process finally wrapped up and spending continues to be anything but austere. The “minibus” appropriations bill signed by the President last week jacked up funding by a combined 8 percent for programs ranging from education to housing to transportation. And that’s at a time when inflation is low. Further, funding hasn’t been passed yet for the president’s recently announced troop surge in Afghanistan, which will cost around $40 billion per year. President Obama will ... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3118855 Wed, 23 Dec 2009 19:28:57 +0100 3118855 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3100778&cid=t_229965_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FtFatODyqKEo%2F By Chris EdwardsThe Senate Homeland Security and Government Affairs Committee is holding hearings today focused on Senator Kent Conrad (D-ND) and Judd Gregg’s (R-NH) idea to set up a special Task Force to draft a deficit-reduction plan. The plan would get fast-tracked through Congress for a vote and “everything would be on the table.” For taxpayers, this idea creates the threat of large tax increases on top of all the other tax increases being discussed in Congress. While the senators supporting a Task Force express valid concerns about the government’s exploding debt, the plan could launch a drive to impose a European-style value-added tax in America. In theory, such a Task Force could come up with some meaty and long-overdue cuts to the federal budget. But nine of the se... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3100778 Thu, 17 Dec 2009 19:06:01 +0100 3100778 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2823962&cid=t_229965_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FDbJAYS--tHA%2F Dairy farmers are working lobbying hard to ensure they get their hands on more of your money.  Apparently, changes made last year to the Milk Income Loss Contract — mainly to take account of rising feed costs — were not enough to stem the losses. The Senate recently voted to give the USDA an extra $350 million for dairy farmers’ support. The House left dairy support out of its appropriations bill, so the two chambers are working on the compromise now (prediction: the taxpayer will get screwed). Here’s an ironic quote from a Brownfield news post yesterday (linked to above). It’s Missouri Dairy Association Chairman Larry Purdom on how to bring prices back up: “Our feeling is that if [USDA] would buy some cheese and product that’s in storage…hanging ... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2823962 Wed, 23 Sep 2009 15:21:02 +0100 2823962 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2441178&cid=t_229965_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2Fpp5du9uDC64%2F The New Republic’s Jonathan Cohn accuses Americans for Prosperity (AFP) of “lies” for running an ad that claims “Washington wants to bring Canadian-style healthcare to the U.S.” AFP’s ad is more defensible than Cohn’s criticisms of it. Cohn elides the question of whether Shana Holmes (the woman featured in the ad) was almost killed by Canada’s Medicare system.  For a supporter of single-payer like Cohn, that is tantamount to admitting that, yeah, socialized medicine sometimes kills people. Cohn argues that the ad is unfair because Canada has many advantages over the U.S. health care sector.  That may be true, but the ad doesn’t appear to defend American health care.  It merely says, “government should never come in between your family and your doctor” and “Don’... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2441178 Thu, 28 May 2009 12:43:07 +0100 2441178 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2389658&cid=t_229965_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2Fqu-GTrriy9w%2F The coincidences that occur in Washington, D.C. are truly extraordinary.  According to the Washington Post: The headquarters of Murtech, in a low-slung, bland building in a Glen Burnie business park, has its blinds drawn tight and few signs of life. On several days of visits, a handful of cars sit in the parking lot, and no trucks arrive at the 10 loading bays at the back of the building. Yet last year, Murtech received $4 million in Pentagon work, all of it without competition, for a variety of warehousing and engineering services. With its long corridor of sparsely occupied offices and an unmanned reception area, Murtech’s most striking feature is its owner — Robert C. Murtha Jr., 49. He is the nephew of Rep. John P. Murtha, the Pennsylvania Democrat who has significant sway... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2389658 Wed, 06 May 2009 12:42:54 +0100 2389658 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2380725&cid=t_229965_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FKYjFx7RRtMI%2F Yesterday the House and Senate passed a bloated $3.5 trillion budget blueprint for fiscal year 2010.  According to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA), “What is important to us as a nation is reflected in this budget. It’s a very happy day for our country.” Included in the blueprint is language that calls for an equal pay raise between military employees and civilian federal employees.  President Obama had originally proposed slightly higher pay for members of the armed services.  The exact pay raise for bureaucrats will be determined in the appropriations process, but it’s likely to be a hike of anywhere from 2.9% to 3.9%.  This would come on top of last year’s 3.9% raise. Omitted from the blueprint was language included in the Senate version by Sen. Tom Co... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2380725 Thu, 30 Apr 2009 15:17:53 +0100 2380725 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2255982&cid=t_229965_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FICXyRU1QTaE%2F In his famous book, Confessions, the 5th-century theologian Augustine wrote that he used to pray before his conversion, “Lord, make me chaste, but not just yet.” That quote came to mind as I read the news a moment ago that President Obama plans to sign the $410 billion catch-all appropriations bill even though it contains 8,500 “earmarks” that will cost taxpayers nearly $8 billion. Recall that as a candidate, Obama said he and Democratic leaders in Congress would change the “business as usual” practice of stuffing spending bills with pet projects. Those earmarks, submitted by individual members to fund obscure projects in their own districts and states, typically become law without any debate or transparency. Saying he would sign the “imperfect bill,” President Obama offere... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2255982 Wed, 11 Mar 2009 18:40:22 +0100 2255982 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2255984&cid=t_229965_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FFIM2U2M1ou4%2F In the mythology of journalism, investigative reporters fall somewhere between archangels and demigods. They protect the public by exposing political deceit and corruption, burrowing relentlessly into the words and deeds of those in power, in search of the truth. And in the field of education, they are as numerous as leprechauns and unicorns. In education, “muckrakers,” as Teddy Roosevelt called them, are few and far between. There are, however, legions of mucksailors — reporters who glide over the surface of a story, seldom probing beneath the public statements of those in power to determine their truth or falsehood. Through my web browser window I can watch the sails of a vast muck navy. Consider the coverage of the battle over DC’s school voucher program. Democ... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2255984 Wed, 11 Mar 2009 16:17:24 +0100 2255984 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2255987&cid=t_229965_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FJv_oHHR-H1I%2F I’m sympathetic to the oft-repeated saying that there are really three parties in Washington: Republicans, Democrats, and Appropriators.  This situation is likely to be demonstrated this evening when Republican members of the Senate Appropriations Committee provide enough votes for Democratic Sen. Harry Reid to close off debate and proceed to final passage of the pork-laden $410 billion fy2009 omnibus appropriations bill. Greasing the skids for bigger government will be almost $8 billion in earmarks contained in the bill.  Fox News is pointing out that almost all of the Republican Senators expected or likely to support the Democratic measure stand to deliver quite a bit of pork to constituents and special interests.  Not coincidentally, all of the senators named, except Sen. Snowe... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2255987 Wed, 11 Mar 2009 12:33:09 +0100 2255987