The inmate population in the United States has grown steadily over the past fifteen years, increasing by 49.6 percent, while the proportion of those prisoners in private prisons has exploded -– according to the Justice Policy Institute’s analysis of federal statistics; the number of people in privately-run prisons More…
After interviewing Rep. Rush Holt (D-N.J.) a few minutes ago, I think I want to revise and extend my comment this morning that most members of Congress alarmed over the revelation of “significant actions” by the CIA that Director Leon Panetta recently stopped were more concerned with not being More…
There are plenty of noteworthy quotes in the Peter Baker piece on former President Bill Clinton in The New York Times Magazine, and the published interview transcript that accompanies it. So far, this strikes me as the noteworthiest; while addressing criticisms of his administration in light of recent More…
Thomas Frank has a terrific op-ed in the Wall Street Journal today, praising President Obama’s recent presidential memorandum declaring the end of an era of unrestrained government outsourcing.
The president “meant to put the kibosh on the GOP’s favorite method for spreading the wealth around,” Frank writes, noting the More…
Amid the Democrats’ boostering and the Republicans’ assaults on the final stimulus package, almost no one is focusing on a key part of the bill that will be critical to making it work: accountability for how that $787 billion is spent. In fact, a look at the final bill reveals More…
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Rep. Henry A. Waxman’s (D-Calif.) successful bid to become chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee closes the door on his brief but eventful tenure as Congress’ No. 1 watchdog over the executive branch.
After the Democrats took over Congress in 2006, Waxman, a More…
When Sen. Joe Lieberman (I-Conn.) meets on Capitol Hill today with Nevada Sen. Harry Reid, the Senate majority leader, the big question will be whether Lieberman, an ardent John McCain backer, will be cut off entirely from the Democratic caucus. What’s almost certain, though, is that Lieberman will lose More…
Not Rep. Henry A. Waxman (D-CA) if he can help it.
As Mike flagged yesterday, Waxman, the chairman of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, will challenge Rep. John Dingell (D-MI) for the post of House Energy and Commerce Committee chair. Waxman called Dingell this morning. A More…
This is at least the fourth time I’ve heard someone refer to the Bush administration’s proposed regulation on the Endangered Species Act as the “fox guarding the henhouse.”
It’s not just because endangered-species workers love animal analogies. It’s because the new rule gives government agencies the power, sans oversight, to More…
Lehman Bros. CEO Richard Fuld, in a written statement for the House oversight committee, portrays himself as a victim of mortgage-market forces beyond his control. Fuld writes, “What happened to Lehman Bros. [which could have been one of the largest bankruptcies in U.S. history] could have happened to any More…
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