Biden blasted from all sides for opening more federal land to oil, natural gas drilling

The Biden administration is under fire for opening the door to selling new leases on public lands for oil and natural gas drilling but at a higher cost to producers, resulting in opposition from climate groups and the energy industry alike. The Department of the Interior (DOI) announced Friday it … The Washington Times stories: White House

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An old hand at federal budgeting analyzes what the 2023 proposal really says

Best listening experience is on Chrome, Firefox or Safari. Subscribe to Federal Drive’s daily audio interviews on Apple Podcasts or PodcastOne Nearly every agency would see more money in 2023 under the Biden administration’s top line request, but it also shows the increasing pressure of the so-called discretionary spending, as mandatory spending expands. As part of our ongoing analysis of the skinny budget, Federal Drive with Tom Temin turns to former federal budget official, now the managing director of Grant Thornton public sector, Doug Criscitello. Interview transcript: Tom Temin: Doug, good to have…

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9 Reasons Not to Pass Yet Another Federal COVID-19 ‘Relief’ Spending Package

Now almost two years since the COVID-19 pandemic began, and after $ 6.6 trillion in total federal spending on it—the equivalent of $ 51,600 per household—some policymakers want to pass yet another so-called COVID-19 relief package. Not only has Congress already spent more than it should have, some of the previous COVID-19 relief spending is actually hurting our economy today by adding to problems like rising costs, supply chain problems, and an unprecedented labor shortage. The following are nine reasons why Washington should not enact any more COVID-19 spending. 1)…

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18 More Federal Agencies Eye Making Vaccine Religious-Objector Lists

This week, we revealed that an obscure federal agency plans to keep lists of the “personal religious information” employees who had religious objections to the federal employee vaccine mandate. As it turns out, the little-known Pre-trial Services Agency for the District of Columbia isn’t the only federal agency involved. As we feared, a whole-of-government effort looks to be underway. A little digging at the Federal Register revealed that there are at least 19 total federal agencies—including five cabinet level agencies—that have created or proposed to create these tracking lists for…

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Biden Bureaucrats Quietly Increase Federal Government’s Control Over Health Care

Throughout the first decade of the 21st century, conservatives in state capitals and in Congress supported a balanced approach of increasing health insurance coverage while granting states flexibility to design sustainable Medicaid programs for low-income residents that include personal responsibility.  States enjoyed broad flexibility to recreate Medicaid programs that reflected what was practicable and achievable.  The Affordable Care Act, popularly known as Obamacare, went in the opposite direction and Congress passed it on a strictly partisan basis. Obamacare took away states’ authority to regulate insurance markets. Health care should not…

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Biden doesn’t support ‘Squad’ bill to abolish federal incarceration, White House says

The White House on Tuesday said President Biden enjoyed visiting the Michigan district of Rep. Rashida Tlaib earlier this month but he does not support a proposal that she and other members of the progressive “Squad” are championing to release federal prisoners within 10 years. “Let me be absolutely clear. … The Washington Times stories: White House

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