ROLL CALL 07/15/13 By Michael Shank and Matt Southworth The House Foreign Affairs Committee heard a compelling case recently for better oversight and accountability of war funding. Special Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction Stuart Bowen delivered the agency’s final oversight report to the Subcommittee on the Middle East and North […]
THE HILL 07/11/13 By Michael Shank, Ph.D. With 150 negotiators in 24 working groups descending on Washington D.C. this week to take part in the first round of US-EU trade talks, and with the joint EU-US High Level Working Group saying that “ambitious outcomes” should be sought for the areas […]
THE GUARDIAN 07/09/13 By Michael Shank and US Congressman Steve Cohen The Department of Defense is spending more than three-quarters of a billion dollars to buy Russian-made aircraft for an Afghan aviation squad that lacks the troops and expertise to operate or maintain them. We know about this example of […]
US NEWS & WORLD REPORT 07/08/13 By Michael Shank Framed as the biggest trade deal in the history of the world, trade representatives from the United States and the European Union meet in Washington this week to begin transatlantic trade talks. This is one of two major trade deals on […]
NATIONAL JOURNAL 07/08/13 By Michael Shank The so-called “war on coal” that Senate Joe Manchin (D-WV) claimed recently is real, in direct response to President Barack Obama’s climate change speech in Georgetown, gained new momentum last month in a World Bank memo that pledged fewer Bank-funded coal projects. Manchin, who […]
FCN 07/05/13 By Jehron Muhammad (FinalCall.com) – President Obama’s trip to Africa maybe more wolf in sheep’s clothing. His trip is scheduled to include West, South and East Africa, and the nations of Senegal, South Africa and Tanzania. The trip may be too little too late. “To some in Africa,” […]
POLITIX 07/05/13 By Michael Shank President Barack Obama’s decision to suspend trade relations with Bangladesh due to worker safety concerns sets new a precedent for two major trade deals on the administration’s docket – the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) and the U.S.-EU Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP). These proposed pacts […]
US NEWS & WORLD REPORT 07/01/13 By Michael Shank The scandal at the Internal Revenue Service illustrates well the critical importance of an inspector general in keeping an administration accountable, regardless of which party holds the presidency. Had it not been for the Office of the Inspector General within the […]
NATIONAL JOURNAL 07/01/13 By Michael Shank Last week, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued a report citing that America could slow its obesity epidemic through a calorie tax. By putting a price on calories, much like we did with tobacco to slow tobacco use and ultimately the cancer […]
US NEWS & WORLD REPORT 06/25/13 By Michael Shank Global climate change got little reprieve this week from President Barack Obama’s climate action plan, which was announced on Tuesday. Beyond the expected nods to renewable and clean energy, cuts to fossil fuel subsidies, vague references to international leadership, delegated direction […]