The majority of voters did not vote for Donald Trump for president; the majority of voters did not vote for Republican candidates for the Senate; and fewer than 51% of voters cast their ballots for Republican candidates for the House of Representatives. The Republican Party now controls the White House, both houses of Congress and the Supreme Court, no matter how that came to be. I believe it is worth bearing in mind that a majority of U.S. citizens did not support the Republican winners.   read more

A new report from the nonprofit organization Smart Growth America says federal financing and spending on real estate totals about $450 billion annually. A majority of the expense is a result of direct loans and loan guarantees. By far the largest program—at about $220 billion a year—is the Federal Housing Administration’s single-family loan program. Mortgage interest tax deductions come in at about $66 billion a year.   read more

Most lawmakers (56%) belong to a Protestant denomination, which has long been the case in Congress, although they make up only 48% of the population. Catholics account for more than 30% of the members of Congress, but only 22% of the population and 6% of Congress members are Jews, even though they make up just 2% of the U.S. population.   read more

The study from Sweden found that drivers tend to lock in on electronic billboards, causing them to lose focus on the road ahead and raising the risk of accidents. The Outdoor Advertising Association of America has tried to undercut the Swedish findings by pointing to an unpublished Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) report that concluded drivers are not at greater risk because of digital road signs.   read more

This portable device, also called an “IMSI catcher” or a “stingray,” sends out a signal that fools nearby wireless phones into connecting with a fake network. It can then capture all sorts of personal data from all of those phones, including location data that can then be used to track a person’s movements in real time. A stingray can be handheld or mounted on a motor vehicle or an unmanned surveillance drone. The FBI argues that wireless phone users have no reasonable expectation to privacy.   read more

Contrary to federal law requiring government agencies to issue government contracts only after competitive bidding, the Pentagon since 2000 has awarded $1.6 trillion worth of defense contracts to sole bidders who had no competition at all. Despite all the talk in Washington about reining in federal spending, this trend shows no signs of abating, as 20 of the most recent 35 Department of Defense (DoD) contracts, worth $257 million, were awarded after receipt of just a single bid.   read more

Congress barred federal funding “to advocate or promote gun control,” which has been interpreted to ban funding of any research into gun violence, regardless of the expected outcome. By way of comparison, motor vehicle accidents kill about as many people in the U.S. each year as firearms do, but an entire federal agency, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, has an annual budget of more than $60 million to fund its mission.   read more

Congress hasn’t always been so obsessed with naming post offices. But after September 11, senators and representatives began memorializing some victims of the attacks by attaching their names to U.S. Post Service (USPS) operations. Then, the practice continued by naming branches after fallen soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan. During all of this time focused on memorials, Congress did little to shore up the USPS’ financial future, making it uncertain just how long the dedications will last.   read more

Federal officials are hoping the revised system will reduce the number of food-poisoning cases in the United States. Currently, about 48 million Americans consume contaminated foods annually, resulting in 128,000 hospitalizations and 3,000 deaths. Among other requirements included in the 1,200 pages of regulations, farmers must provide adequate restroom and hand-washing facilities for farm workers. Food processing companies will have to do the same.   read more

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) has been ordered by a three-judge panel to explain why it exempted one of the oldest nuclear power plants in the United States from fire-safety regulations. Indian Point nuclear reactor, located about 25 miles from New York City, was given a pass in 2007 by the NRC to avoid upgrading its systems to prevent fires. The NRC stands accused of closing off public debate before granting the exemption.   read more

Among the 376 reports are the following: • A Corporation for National and Community Service “Report on Reports Provided by Other Federal Agencies,” which is literally a report about other reports; • A DHS report on the illegal importation of products containing dog and cat fur, which has found only one violation in the last five years.   read more

The report attributed two-thirds of the discrepancy of life expectancy for men to American males dying before the age of 50. These early deaths were due, to a great extent, to car accidents, gun violence, drug overdoses and alcohol abuse. The U.S. also had the highest rate of poverty of the 17 countries studied and a large population of people who are uninsured.   read more

The cap applied to medicines that the Defense Department purchased directly and distributed to service members at military treatment facilities or through Tricare’s mail-order program. But it didn’t apply to prescriptions that service members bought at retail pharmacies within the Tricare network, such as a CVS or Walgreens.   read more

The document stated that the worker, whose identity was redacted, was continuously “passing gas and releasing an unpleasant odor” that created a “hostile work environment.” The 38-year-old man reportedly farted 63 times in his office over a three-month period, and as many as nine times in one day (September 19, 2012). The exact times of each unpleasant gaseous discharge are listed in the reprimand document.   read more

An advocate of privacy rights, Leahy has supported information privacy and open government. In 2006, Leahy was one of only 10 senators who voted against the USA PATRIOT Improvement and Reauthorization Act, a bill to extend the USA PATRIOT Act. He is also the chief sponsor of the Innocence Protection Act, which addresses flaws in the administration of capital punishment.   read more

For the first time since the Abu Ghraib scandal broke nearly 10 years ago, a U.S. contractor has agreed to pay restitution to the Iraqis who were tortured at the infamous prison and other locations run by the American military. L-3 Services, Inc., which provided translators used during interrogations of Iraqis, wound up costing its parent company, Engility Holdings, more than $5 million to settle claims from 71 defendants who sued in a U.S. court.   read more

In the end, federal regulators decided on an $8.5 billion settlement that banks must pay. But of this total, only $3.3 billion is actual cash, while another $5.2 billion represents “credits” that financial institutions will receive for avoiding future foreclosures. The $3.3 billion in funds will be distributed to about 3.8 million borrowers who were eligible to have their foreclosures reviewed. That amounts to approximately $870 per homeowner.   read more