Doug McKelway Archive

Disability benefits program for federal workers reported rife with waste

Published June 17, 2013

The government's program for disability benefits for federal workers is reported rife with waste and abuse, including cases where apparently healthy employees ran marathons, skied and did trapeze flips while collecting disability payments.

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IRS official who refused to testify facing more scrutiny over scandal, past

Published May 23, 2013

The IRS official who refused to testify at a House hearing Wednesday has become a key focus of the congressional investigations into the IRS practice of singling out conservative groups. 

Scandals prompt comparisons between Nixon, Obama administrations

Published May 15, 2013

The chorus of comparisons between President Obama and the only president to resign in disgrace is growing by the day, as the administration’s scandals appear to pile up. Whether the comparisons are fair or not, columnist George Will perhaps led the charge -- after citing the Article of Impeachment against President Nixon in an opinion piece this week.

Obama doubles down in advocating active government, as GOP warns of excess

Published May 07, 2013

A passage in President Obama's recent commencement address at Ohio State University has highlighted the stark contrast between his view of the role of government and that of his Republican opponents, and it may portend tough political clashes for the remainder of his term.

German home-schooling family fights to stay in US

Published April 12, 2013

While the White House and many lawmakers push to grant legal status to immigrants who crossed the border illegally, the Romeike family thought they followed the rules -- but now face deportation. 

Climate change skeptics seize on reports showing temperatures leveling

Published April 09, 2013

Climate change skeptics are doing a bit of gloating following a series of mainstream media reports that acknowledge what those skeptics have long held -- the earth is not warming, at least not in the last 10 years. 

What to Cut: Striking subsidies could save billions

Published March 29, 2013

Sugar is just one commodity whose price is hugely inflated in the United States because of what critics call an outdated system of subsidies and price supports. 

What to Cut: Calls to shed debt-burdened Fannie, Freddie

Published March 28, 2013

More than five years after the housing bubble burst -- sending the U.S. economy into a tailspin from which it has yet to fully recover -- the two government-backed entities at the heart of the bust remain deeply in debt. 

What to Cut: Red tape stalls firing of ineffective federal workers

Published March 27, 2013

Working for the federal government used to mean a trade-off -- lower salaries, in exchange for higher job security. Today, there's no trade-off as federal workers often make good money with little risk of being fired. 

What to Cut: Excess federal property costing taxpayers billions

Published March 26, 2013

A prime example of how slowly the federal government moves is a piece of prime real estate in Washington's tony Georgetown neighborhood -- an old steam-generating plant with a spectacular view of the Potomac waterfront.