The Unemployment Insurance program's error rate has jumped as the program has grown during the economic downturn, paying out billions of dollars in improper payments in 2011, making it the second-worst program on a special government watch list.
Just three months after President Obama's plea for civility after the mass shooting in Tucson, Ariz., it's back to business in Washington, where some lawmakers have returned to heated policy debates, verbal haymakers and accusing one another of wanting to kill Americans.
Wasting no time, House Republicans moved quickly ahead Thursday with their own overhaul of the nation's health care system, commanding key committees to get to work and launching a fresh attack on federal policies regarding abortion funding.
Call it a constitutional do-over. Two days after they took control of the House, Republicans on Friday had to clean up the mess left when two of their members failed to properly take the oath of office, even though they had been voting and conducting business as if they had.
Over the next few weeks, ownership of the House will transition from outgoing Speaker Nancy Pelosi, California Democrat, to Rep. John A. Boehner, Ohio Republican. That change can't happen soon enough, but it won't be easy. One of the first challenges for the presumptive speaker's team will be selecting committee chairmen for the 112th Congress. The heads of those panels will influence the direction of the body for years to come.
Last week, the House of Representatives passed the dishonestly named DISCLOSE Act after weeks of backroom dealings
The Democrats are assaulting the very pillars of our democracy. As the debate on Obamacare reaches the long, painful end, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is confronting a political nightmare. She may not have the 216 votes necessary to pass the Senate's health care bill in the House.
