Government Waste

Why the Price of the F-35 Keeps Soaring

By Ciro Scotti

The most costly fighter ever built is getting even more expensive. A new General Accounting Office report says the Pentagon will spend an additional $3.9 billion over the next five years on “...
What a Waste—Senate Health Care Debate Squanders Time and Millions for Nothing

By Rob Garver and Eric Pianin

For Republican leaders in the Senate, watching their first two attempts to pass a health care bill this week fail badly in floor votes must have been extra painful as they plainly knew in advance...
The Pentagon Skips Out on a $10 Billion Debt

By Eric Pianin

By law, the free-spending Defense Department is required to implement a plan to achieve at least $10 billion in administrative cost savings within the next two years. But the Government...
Can Congress Finally Stop Wasting $100 Billion a Year in Erroneous Payments?

By Eric Pianin

In response to repeated prodding by the General Accounting Office and other government watchdogs, the House Budget Committee is calling for creation of a special commission to crack down on...
Homeland Security Did Not Report $3.5 Million Spent on Conferences

By Eric Pianin

The behemoth Department of Homeland Security violated federal rules when they neglected to report nearly two dozen conferences sponsored by the agency in 2014 and 2015 at an overall cost of more than...

The Latest FBI Mess: The $2 Billion Project to Build Its New Headquarters

By Eric Pianin

The FBI’s once imposing fortress-like headquarters in downtown Washington is in shambles today, with netting hanging from the façade to prevent broken concrete from hitting passing tourists. Inside,...
The Navy’s Argument for Building Another $500 Million Combat Ship Doesn’t Hold Water

By Ciro Scotti

Under pressure from the White House, the Navy agreed to add a second Littoral Combat Ship to its 2018 budget despite grave concerns about the capabilities of the vessel. The stated reason was to save...
How a No-Show Worker Scammed the VA Out of $100,000

By Eric Pianin

A former research investigator at a VA health facility in Oklahoma City scammed the government out of more than $100,000 by claiming thousands of hours of work while he was drawing a salary at a...
Ouch! Mylan May Have Overcharged the US More Than $1 Billion for EpiPens

By Rob Garver

The federal government appears to have shelled out more than $1.27 billion in overpayments to the drug company Mylan, which holds the patent on the widely-used EpiPen, an auto-injector for...
How Bad Is Drug Theft at VA Hospitals? Feds Pursue Dozens of New Cases

By Eric Pianin

In the last few months, the VA inspector general’s office opened 36 criminal investigations into alleged drug theft by employees at veterans hospitals, bringing the number of open criminal...

Your Taxes Are Still Paying for This?

By Brianna Ehley, The Fiscal Times

Yesterday, we told you about the “autopen”-- a machine embraced by the Franklin Roosevelt administration that helped lawmakers sign bills without getting hand cramps. The Washington Post called it...
$45 Billion Wasted in Redundant Federal Programs: GAO

By Brianna Ehley, The Fiscal Times

The federal government has no idea how many tax dollars it’s wasting on redundant federal programs every year—but it’s likely in the neighborhood of $45 billion. That’s according to the Government...
How the Mentally Ill Are Being Warehoused in Prisons

By Eric Pianin

A new report documenting that ten times as many mentally ill people are being incarcerated in jails and prisons as are being treated in psychiatric hospitals and community facilities highlights a...
Drop Obamacare’s Employer Mandate, Lose $149 Billion

By Brianna Ehley, The Fiscal Times

Could a provision central to financing much of the president’s health care law be “the next to go,” as former White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs predicted last week? The oft-delayed employer...
BREAKING: Congress Does Something--Pushes $127 Billion in Tax Breaks

By Eric Pianin

In a clear sign that Congress remains light years away from tax reform, the Senate Finance Committee on Thursday approved a bill to renew a grab-bag of tax provisions and loopholes that cost the...

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