Shuster Attempting Bill Without Earmark Aid
BEDFORD – It’s been a little more than 50 years since Congress passed a bill authorizing $32 million for the massive engineering project that would become Raystown Lake. At that time, the key to a successful funding bill was a guarantee of projects in select representatives’ districts. And for decades, Congress passed the so-called Water Resources Development Acts every few years, without much fuss. But in today’s legislative environment – with federal earmarks banned and the
Leaders Rally to Defense of EDC
The head of Brevard County’s main economic development agency is trying to reassure local business and political leaders that her organization did nothing wrong in its dealings with the technology company BlueWare. That company is ensnared in a political scandal that led to the arrest earlier this month of former Brevard County Clerk of Courts Mitch Needelman and BlueWare Chief Executive Officer Rose Harr. Economic Development Commission of Florida’s Space Coast President and
How American Hopes for a Deal in Egypt Were Undercut
CAIRO — For a moment, at least, American and European diplomats trying to defuse the volatile standoff in Egypt thought they had a breakthrough. As thousands of Islamist supporters of the ousted president, Mohamed Morsi, braced for a crackdown by the military-imposed government, a senior European diplomat, Bernardino León, told the Islamists of “indications” from the leadership that within hours it would free two imprisoned opposition leaders. In turn, the Islamists had agree
Money-Shuffling Got Military $1B to End Furloughs
Hey look, the Pentagon just found a billion bucks. Yes, one billion dollars. After weeks of furloughs that cost some 650,000 civil servants six days of pay, Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel announced this week that money had been located to end the shrunken paychecks. That’s a big windfall for a department that told Congress national defense was at risk from imposed cuts known as sequestration. So how did defense officials find the money? They moved funds around. By transferring
