Despite massive increases in manpower, the U.S. Border Patrol is still intercepting only about 61 percent of would-be illegal immigrants along the U.S.-Mexico border, according to an audit that the investigative arm of Congress released Wednesday.
Welfare is still a mammoth program, but increasingly comes in the form of services and support, not cash — and many poor people are less interested in applying than they were when it was dollars on the line, rather than access to education, day care and transportation, a Government Accountability Office report said this week.
The disappointing "fiscal cliff" tax-and-spend bill proves Washington isn't serious about bringing its financial house into order.
A lot of numbers have been thrown around regarding the "fiscal cliff," including the amount of money various people would have to pay should the tax cuts expire, and how many jobs in both the public and private sectors would be threatened should sequestration go into effect on Jan. 1.
The federal government has overpaid billions of dollars in benefits to people who have been ruled disabled and impoverished, often because they understated their income. Debt because of overpayments has doubled over the past decade to $7.3 billion, according to a new government report.
With the holidays fast approaching, many Americans are preparing to take to the skies to visit family. A time that ought to be filled with joy often turns to a time of dread thanks to the Transportation Security Administration's (TSA) need to pretend it is doing something to thwart terrorism.
Florida is preparing to issue its 1 millionth concealed-carry permit while a federal court ruling this week left the nation's capital as the only place in the United States with a total ban on carrying concealed weapons — developments that have gun advocates feeling that momentum is on their side in the national debate over whether Americans can remain armed once they leave home.
Despite a global crackdown on human traffickers and a pledge by Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton that stopping this type of "modern slavery" was a top priority, foreign diplomats in the United States remain immune from punishment when they abuse members of their household staffs.
American consumers have shown about as much appetite for the $1 coin as children do their spinach. They may not know what's best for them either. Congressional auditors say that eliminating dollar bills and replacing them with coins could save taxpayers some $4.4 billion over the next 30 years.
