Necessary News

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Bush Admin: Ignoring IGs And Wasting Taxpayers’ Mula Since 2001

• Oh, what a waste.
• The House Government and Oversight Committee asked the nation’s Inspector Generals to identify recommendations made between January 2001 and December 31, 2008 that hadn’t been put into practice by numerous government agencies. [OhMyGov!]
• And Tuesday, Waxman and co. released a report on their findings that are sure to have taxpayers’ wallets shaking their head at the Bush administration. [RTTNews]
• The report concluded that the Bush administration:
  • Failed to implement 13,847 recommendations since 2001.
  • Wasted $26 billion in taxpayer money by not executing on the recommendations.
  • Failure to execute these recommendations could have side-stepped serious risks posed to American people, including improving national and homeland security, public health and safety, environmental protection and Americans’ overall quality of life.

• And with the IGs being ignored time and time again, the result, Waxman said, “has been billions of dollars in waste, fraud, and abuse.”
• Inspector General 101: IGs are responsible for conducting independent audits and investigations of agency programs and staff, in order to root out corruption, waste, fraud, mismanagement and abuse.
• The only problem is that sometimes when the IG issues reports, they are simply disregarded.
• Examples of unimplemented IG recommendations: [USA Today]
  • In April 2006, the Social Security Administration IG estimated that the agency could save more than $2 billion annually by ceasing payments to people who no longer meet the eligibility criteria for disability benefits due to medical improvement or employment status.
  • In July 2007, the Defense Department IG estimated that the Pentagon could recoup $837 million in overpayments by establishing effective recovery audits for military telecommunications contracts.
  • In February 2007, the Department of Homeland Security IG concluded that FEMA could recover $16 million in excessive billings and questionable costs resulting from poor management of a contract for base camp services associated with Hurricane Katrina.

• And the agencies that could have saved the most money by implanting these recommendations: The Social Security Administration and the Department of Health and Human Services, who could have saved $16.3 billion.
• And as taxpayers try to make sense of it all Rep. Claire McCaskill puts it best: “If someone told me that I was losing change from a hole in my pocket and instead of mending it I kept losing money, shame on me. But that’s what has happened over the past seven years to the tune of $25 billion, as thousands of inspectors general recommendations were ignored by our government.”

Oh, another day, another ‘billions of dollars’ wasted.

Obama: U.S. Budget Facing “Trillion-Dollar Deficits For Years To Come”

• “President-elect Barack Obama on Tuesday braced Americans for the unparalleled prospect of ‘trillion-dollar deficits for years to come,’ a stark assessment of the economic condition facing the country that he said would force his administration to impose tighter fiscal discipline on the government.” [NY Times]
• Barack Obama: “We’re going to have to stop talking about budget reform. We’re going to have to totally embrace it. It’s an absolute necessity.” [Washington Post] 
• His remarks came the day before the Congressional Budget Office was set to release the latest deficit info (which goes up on its website at 10AM today.)
• The current economic crisis is already devouring U.S. funds. Check this out: “In just the first three months of the 2009 fiscal year, which began on Oct. 1, the government spent $408 billion more than it took in. About one-third of that short-fall stemmed from the Treasury Department’s rescue program of injecting capital into banks,” though the government labeled that “investment,” not “spending.”
• And it gets worse: “The recession itself will add hundreds of billions of dollars to the deficit. Even before Congress adds any new stimulus measures, higher outlays will climb for existing unemployment benefits, food stamps and other social programs. Tax revenues will fall because of rising unemployment, falling corporate profits and huge investment losses in the stock and bond markets.”
• The President-Elect, however, also warned that, at least in the short-term, it will be necessary to stimulate the economy with more cash to kick the U.S. out of its financial rut. That doesn’t mean a free-for-all, though. Obama told reporters, “We are going to ban all earmarks, the process by which individual members insert pet projects without review.” [CNN] 
• “Obama said he will incorporate a trio of provisions in the nearly $800 billion stimulus package under review by Congress — dubbed the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act — to ensure that the money is not wasted. The provisions include establishing a special panel to monitor use of the money; a Web site that will allow taxpayers to monitor use of the money; and a ban on lawmakers’ pet projects, known as earmarks.” [Washington Post] 
• The Fed also weighed in on the economy yesterday. According to new documents released by the Federal Reserve Bank, even their historic decision to slash interest rates to nearly zero, they warn “the economic outlook would remain weak for a time and the downside risks to economic activity would be substantial.” [CBS News] 

You’ve gotta spend money to make money — it’s finding the balance that’s tough.

State of the Bailout

• As if $700 billion in taxpayer dollars wasn’t enough, the U.S. government is now estimating it will spend $6.5 million by the end of January in salaries and other administrative costs for the rescue program. [CBS]
• The administrative cost of the bailout was released as part of a Treasury Department report to Congress on the status of the bailout.
• The government estimates it will spend nearly $1.2 million on salaries through the end of January and more than $5.3 million on other expenses.
• So far, the Treasury Department said Monday has given $15 billion to seven U.S. banks in the latest round of payments from the $700 billion rescue fund.
• The biggest payment in the new round was $7.58 billion to Pittsburgh-based PNC Financial Services Group Inc.
• With these current payments, the total government spending as hit $187.5 billion, including institutions in 41 states and Puerto Rico.
• Under the law that established the $700 billion financial rescue program, Treasury has two business days after giving final approval to release the money to make that action public. In many cases, the individual financial institutions publicize that they have received approval for financial rescue support before the official Treasury announcement.

Speculation abounds about when the next $350 million will be released, though it is likely to be held until President Elect Obama takes office on Jan. 20.

Good News, Bad News

While Macworld may have been without Steve Jobs, it wasn’t without its share of surprises. One big change unveiled is that the new version of iLife will include a feature called Faces that finds and organizes a gallery of a user’s friends in his or her photos using face-recognition software. [CNN]

GOOD NEWS

Certainly cuts down on time spent organizing pictures.

BAD NEWS

Now every drunk picture of you is going to go on Facebook, and there’s nothing you can do to stop it.

Quote Of The Day

“You never get credit for things that didn’t happen. Nobody says, ‘Thank goodness no planes have crashed into any buildings lately.’ ”

—- Education Secretary Margaret Spellings who predicts, along with other Bush long-time aides, that history will judge Bush favorably. Spelling was political director of Bush’s first campaign for Texas governor in 1994 and started in the administration as the White House domestic policy adviser.  [USA Today]

Speed Round

VERY, VERY BAD MAN

Meet Robert Chiarappa, a construction official with the John Galt Corp. who stole $1.2 million from the government during his work on a Ground Zero project. We’ve forgotten our Dante — which circle of Hell is reserved for total dirtbags? [NY Times] 

IT AIN’T OVER

Norm Coleman has decided to sue the state of Minnesota, saying he refuses to accept the board’s ruling that his contender Al Franken won the election by 225 votes. Says the NYT, “In going to court, Coleman has three big challenges: raising money to pay escalating legal bills, proving the election was flawed and managing the public’s desire to have the race over.” [NY Times]  

WHAT’S SCARING US TODAY

“The coal ash pond that ruptured and sent a billion gallons of toxic sludge across 300 acres of East Tennessee last month was only one of more than 1,300 similar dumps across the United States — most of them unregulated and unmonitored — that contain billions more gallons of fly ash and other byproducts of burning coal.” [NY Times]

GIRL POWER!

The House of Representatives finally made its official language gender-neutral in new rules adopted yesterday by the freshly sworn-in members. “According to the rules as passed today, ‘chairman’ will be replaced by “chair,” in many official rules, and in the many instances in which the Speaker of the House is referred to as ‘he,’ the language has been change to say ‘the Speaker,’ reflecting the leadership of Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), the first woman to serve in that position.’ [The Hill] 

I QUIT!

Levi Johnston, better known as Bristol Palin’s high-school dropout babydaddy, quit his apprenticeship on the Alaska oil fields this week. His departure followed an Anchorage Daily News story which gently pointed out federal regulations require all oil field apprentices to hold a high school diploma. (The article also wondered if Gov. Palin had pulled any strings to get her daughter’s boyfriend the position.) The boy is now reportedly working on getting his GED. [Washington Post] 

NO LOVE FOR BURRIS

A new Gallup/USA Today poll shows by a 2-1 margin, Americans think Roland Burris should be blocked from taking Barack Obama’s seat in the U.S. Senate. A majority — 52% — feel Gov. Rod Blagojevich’s pick should go home and a special election should take place instead. [USA Today]

MILITARY VOTES SHORTCHANGED

A new study by Pew Center On The States charges the cumbersome system many states use for military members voting from overseas doesn’t allow enough time for those votes to actually be counted. In fact, in 2006, “only a third of ballots requested by military voters actually were cast and counted.” [McClatchy] 

OLDEST. CONGRESS. EVER.

The upcoming Congress will be the oldest on record, with the average age of the Senate at 63 and the average age of the House at 57. “All but one of 37 House and Senate committee chairs tapped so far (three remain to be named) were in Congress before Obama’s 1991 graduation from Harvard Law School. Fourteen arrived in Congress before the incoming president was out of high school.” [USAT]  

SO YOU WANT TO BE A SENATOR...

...in the state of NY? Well, then you’ll have to fill out the 28-page questionnaire sent to at least six candidates by Governor David Paterson. The questionaires ask for details about finances, job history and any criminal record, and are part of the on-going process to fill Senator Hillary Clinton’s seat. [NYT]

RIP

German billionaire Adolf Merckle, one of the richest men in the world, committed suicide this week after his business empire crumbled in the wake of the international financial crisis. His net worth tumbled from $12.8 billion to $9.2 billion in 2008. [CNN]

JUST SAY NO

Former Gov. Jeb Bush says he won’t run for the U.S. Senate in 2010 to replace the retiring Mel Martinez, saying “now is not the right time to return to elected office.” [MSNBC]

HOW DO YOU PLEAD?

Five Blackwater security guards have pleaded not guilty to manslaughter charges in the 2007 shooting deaths of 17 Iraqi civilians in Baghdad. A sixth guard, Jeremy Ridgeway has pleaded guilty to one count each of manslaughter, attempted manslaughter, and aiding and abetting...and is offering to help investigators. [CBS]

$2.2 TRILLION

The amount Americans spent on healthcare in 2007, or $7,421 per person, according to a U.S. government report released on Tuesday. Cheaper generic drugs and worries about drug safety helped slow spending growth but the numbers kept the United States far ahead of all other countries on health spending. [Reuters]

WE’RE NOT THAT RICH

Of U.S. households worth $1 million or more, 55% are concerned they will not have enough assets to maintain their lifestyles as many American millionaires have seen their assets shrink by 30% during the economic crisis, a report said on Tuesday. The report was based on online polling in November of 750 households with more than $1 million of net worth and from information gathered in focus groups in New York, Palm Beach, Seattle, Los Angeles and Chicago. [Reuters]

PAGING DR. GUPTA!

President-elect Obama has offered the job of surgeon general to Dr. Sanjay Gupta, the neurosurgeon and correspondent for CNN and CBS. According to Howard Kutz, “Gupta has told administration officials that he wants the job, and the final vetting process is under way. He has asked for a few days to figure out the financial and logistical details of moving his family from Atlanta to Washington but is expected to accept the offer.” [Political Wire]

POOR TOYOTA

Toyota announced Tuesday it will stall all 12 of its owned factories in Japan for an extra 11 days in response to the slumping auto market. The company already had announced a three-day shutdown, which was set to begin in January. The longer stretch, scheduled for February and March, will try to help the company get through the downturn without cutting jobs. [CNN]