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 »
With approval ratings firmly ensconced in the single-digits, it is no surprise that Americans are fed-up with Congress. In the announcing of his retirement, long-time member Barney Frank of Massachusetts has become emblematic of the corrosive morass the People’s House has become and his persona a reflection of the daily battles in which our mediaRead… Read more »
The fact that millions of Americans are unemployed or underemployed is not news. Although we seem to be engaged in Einstein’s infamous trap of ‘doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results.’ Policy makers are debating how to entice businesses into hiring more people and the unemployed are angry and frustrated overRead… Read more »
As facial recognition technology has become popular for law enforcement purposes, Congress has become increasingly more concerned about privacy protection surrounding this software. “As in many fast growing and changing sectors, public policy has not kept pace with the development of this sort of technology,” [Senator] Rockefeller wrote in a letter to FTC Chairman JonRead… Read more »