Un-FIT
By Elizabeth Wright
In April, House Republican Leader John Boehner (R-Ohio) announced that the House Republican Policy Committee had created the Fiscal Integrity Task Force (FIT). Taxpayer groups in Washington were elated. Finally, Republicans in Congress were rediscovering their fiscal soul. The goal of the FIT, according to Rep. Boehner, is “to put fiscal integrity into government budgeting, taxing, and spending, and to demand that Congress run the federal government like a family budget.”
Deepwater in Hot Water
By Jonathan A. Slemrod
The Coast Guard’s air and sea fleet are aging, with most of the fleet dating back to the 1950s and 1960s. Responding to the need to update the fleet and react to a shifting threat, the Coast Guard created the Integrated Deepwater System in 2002, which, according to the Coast Guard’s website is “a critical multi-year program to modernize and replace the Coast Guard’s aging ships and aircraft, and improve command and control and logistics systems. It is the largest acquisition in the history of the Coast Guard. Integrated Coast Guard Systems has been managing the IDS contract since it was awarded in June, 2002.” However, there are serious concerns with the procurement of aircraft and the National Security Cutter.
A Challenge That Should Not Be Met
By Evan Lisull
Six years ago, President Bush called for the establishment of the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC), “a new compact for global development defined by new accountability for both rich and poor nations alike.”
Diss-Orderly Conduct
By Amy Glynn
What do earmarks for $10 million for the National World War II Museum in New Orleans, $18 million for a chapel in Fort Hood, and $5 million for a fence near San Diego have in common? The House of Representatives deemed them to be important enough to include as earmarks in the committee report on H.R. 5658, the National Defense Authorization Act for fiscal year 2009.
Filed under: Appropriations, Defense, Earmarks, Pork, Waste, Wastewatcher
