A little-known part of health care reform is being pulled from implementation. The CLASS Act (standing for Community Living Assistance Services and Supports) was an initiative heralded by the late Senator Ted Kennedy for years. The basic goal of the program was to set up an insurance system for workers that protected against the risk of disability. However, Department of Health and Human Services chief Kathleen Sebelius (a Cincinnati native) declared the program fiscally unworkable.
Read more in Politics
Every federal action that can significantly affect the environment has to undergo a review process as per the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). One such action, the Keystone XL Project is a proposed oil pipeline, which would extend from Hardisty, Alberta in Canada to Houston, Texas. The agency in charge, in this case the State Department, writes an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS), which is reviewed by other relevant agencies, interested parties, and the public. After two years of writing and revising the Keystone XL EIS, the State Department released the final version of the statement in August. Earlier this month, the State Department and TransCanada—the company proposing to build the pipeline—held their final public comment period. Typically, the State Department synthesizes all the information they’ve received, and if the project is found to be in the United States’ “national...
Read more in Earth Tones, Politics
Flashback to August 1st, 2011: In the midst of a steamy summer day, Washington D.C. gives the nation pause as the U.S Congress voted to increase the debt ceiling. What should have been a routine lazy Monday before August recess became a moment of catharsis straight from a summer blockbuster. Months of fighting over whether the U.S. government would honor its debts on time had created a toxic atmosphere, and rational people all throughout the country justifiably asked themselves, “What in Gods name was that for?” As the legislative calender lurches towards the super-committee and the political calender gears up for the 2012 elections, the usual questions of civility and corruption are laying by the wayside. There is a sense of a fundamental breakdown of our political system, that old norms no longer apply. It seems like a vicious...
Read more in Politics, The Foskuhl Factor