“I have been to the darkest corners of government, and what they fear is light.” — Edward Snowden
— Privatizing the VA an alternative to government-run healthcare: President Barack Obama spoke about the problems in the VA healthcare system on Memorial Day during a ceremony at Arlington National Cemetery. “We rededicate ourselves to our sacred obligations to all who wear America’s uniform,” he said. “These Americans have done their duty. They ask nothing more than our nation does ours for now and for the decades to come.” He didn’t lay out any specifics to solving the problem, but others are. One idea being floated is privatization of VA hospitals, which Derek Bennett of Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America calls a “no-brainer,” and it is. “The idea of privatization has gained steam since allegations of a wait-list at a VA facility in Phoenix were exposed last month, but the concept has been posed for years by conservative lawmakers, including Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., in 2008 and GOP presidential nominee Mitt Romney, who both faced a backlash from such groups as the Veterans of Foreign Wars,” Fox News explains. “The plan comes at the same time conservatives have suggested a program in which veterans could use vouchers to pay for treatment at private facilities.” Hey, it’s a good idea, and one that the White House and Congress should consider. After all, the government-run healthcare system has failed veterans. It’s time to try something new.
— Amateur hour at the White House: The White House released the name of the United States’ top spy, known as “chief of station,” in Aghanistan. “The CIA’s top officer in Kabul was exposed Saturday by the White House when his name was inadvertently included on a list provided to news organizations of senior U.S. officials participating in President Obama’s surprise visit with U.S. troops,” the Washington Post reports. “The CIA officer was one of 15 senior U.S. officials identified as taking part in a military briefing for Obama at Bagram air base, a sprawling military compound north of Kabul. Others included U.S. Ambassador to Afghanistan James B. Cunningham and Marine Gen. Joseph F. Dunford, Jr., the commander of U.S. and coalition forces in the country.” The last time this happened was during the Bush administration, when White House and administration officials leaked the name of a covert CIA operative, Valerie Plame, to reporters in 2003. That incident led to a criminal investigation and the prosecution of Scooter Libby, then-Vice President Dick Cheney’s chief of staff.
— Some Senate Republicans want a “Contract with America”: Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) is leading a group of Republicans who are pushing leaders to unveil a policy memo to voters ahead of the 2014 mid-term election. “Advocates of the strategy, which has triggered a closed-door debate in recent weeks among the party’s current 45 senators, say it would serve as a firm rejoinder to Democrats casting the GOP as the ‘party of no.’ They say voters should know what they’d be getting by pulling the lever for Republicans in November,” Politico explains. “With many election handicappers pegging a Senate takeover as a better than 50-50 proposition, the quandary of how specific they should get during the campaign underscores the difficulties Senate Republicans face transitioning from opposition party to governing party. While Republicans are in broad agreement over their principles, such as repealing Obamacare and opposing higher taxes, a new GOP majority would have its own challenges unifying behind an ambitious agenda.” Graham was part of the 1994 Republican Revolution, the year in which Republicans gave voters the “Contract with America,” a policy manifesto written by then-House Minority Whip Newt Gingrich (R-GA) and House Republican Conference Chairman Dick Armey (R-TX). The Contract with America included a number of major policy reforms, most of which passed at least the House. In 2000, however, then-Cato Institute President Ed Crane noted that “the combined budgets of the 95 major programs that the Contract with America promised to eliminate have increased by 13%.” The Contract with America was emulated by House Republicans in 2010 with the “Pledge to America,” a document full of mostly watered down policy ideas that have proven difficult to live up to.
— Goodlatte holding up sentencing reforms in the House: House Judicary Committee Chairman Bob Goodlatte (R-VA) is an old, tough-on-crime Republican who doesn’t want to change the status quo, even though its failing miserably. “The man standing in the way is the 61-year-old chair of the Judiciary Committee, Rep. Bob Goodlatte of Virginia. He has declined to give the bill a committee hearing, the first step required for a vote by the full House,” BuzzFeed notes. “Last month, he told reporters he’s not sold on the Smarter Sentencing Act or the larger effort to reevaluate the drug war that’s behind it.” What?! Seriously? The system is broken, taxpayers are spending billions to keep nonviolent offenders behind bars. What’s more, mandatory minimums are racist in nature. Criminal justice reforms at the state level have worked, reducing recidivism rates and burdens on taxpayers. Unfortunately, the problem doesn’t stop at Goodlatte. “In the Senate, it’s a slightly different story. Advocates and aides are willing to point the finger at who’s responsible for slowing any big changes to the prison system,” the story continues. “Advocates are convinced Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid will put the Smarter Sentencing Act on the Senate floor before the end of summer, possibly before the end of June. But Senate Republican aides say Sens. Chuck Grassley and Jeff Sessions, a former attorney general of Alabama, are the men making it impossible to predict whether the bill will avoid filibuster.” Sigh. This is the perfect opportunity to do something right — not because it’s a good outreach opportunity to minorities, but rather because it’s morally right — and Old Guard Republicans are screwing it up.
— Young Republicans continue to embrace libertarian positions: Millennial-aged, libertarian-leaning Republicans are leading the way in trying to grow their party. “At a recent meeting, the Tampa Bay Young Republicans recited the Pledge of Allegiance, prayed and then tackled the night’s topic: marijuana,” the Associated Press explains, noting that the “group illustrates a growing generational divide in the GOP as younger Republicans increasingly break rank from the establishment on social issues.” But this isn’t just a generational issue, they take a skeptical view of government intervention. “[Y]oung Republicans say their positions stem from the party’s belief that government shouldn’t intrude on people’s lives,” the story continues. “Ron Paul’s 2012 presidential campaign got most of its following from younger Republicans attracted by his libertarian message that allowed for gay marriage and the legalization of marijuana.” Now, if only Republican elders would listen.
— Yes, there’s plenty of spending left to cut: There are plenty of spending cuts left to make, but the problem is Democrats and Republicans in Washington lack the political willpower to knock out even the most wasteful, fraudulent spending. “According to the Government Accountability Office (GAO), from 2004 to 2012 the federal government improperly allocated somewhere between $38 billion and $121 billion in taxpayer funds each year, amounting to a total $799 billion over an eight-year period. Such misallocations range from misattributed tax credits to disability insurance payments being made to non-disabled people. And the problem is getting worse: Improper payments averaged $42 billion a year from 2004 to 2007, then jumped to $105 billion between 2008 and 2012,” Veronique de Rugy explains at Reason. ”Medicare Fee-for-Service (FFS), Medicare Advantage, and Medicaid combined to waste $61.9 billion in 2012, according to the GAO, making government-run health care by far the biggest offender in the waste sweepstakes. Medicare FFS alone improperly spent $32 billion in 2012.” This wasteful spending is going get worse as Medicare spending grows, and, yet, there’s nothing but resistance from certain congressional leaders and special interest groups.
— Just a note about the minimum wage: While supporters of the proposed minimum wage hike say that it will boost the economy, Thomas Firey can’t help but notice that five out of the last six recessions, including the 2007-2008 recession, happened not long after Congress acted on the issue. The lone exception was the 1996 minimum wage hike, which was phased in over two years. “It seems far more likely that mandating a small wage increase for a small group of workers who work a small number of hours will not have much stimulatory effect on the economy,” Fiery writes. “It may not even be enough to counterbalance the negative economic effects of would-be workers who can’t find — or lose — their jobs because of the mandated increase.”
— And while we’re on the minimum wage: Let’s ban volunteering, says A. Barton Hinkle. “Some people are going to say volunteers like the work and agree to do it for free, so that makes the pay scale OK. Wrong! First of all, the premise is highly questionable. Ask your school’s PTA secretary how much he looks forward to writing the monthly newsletter. He probably got volun-told to do it when nobody else would. Anyway, just because volunteers agree to work for free doesn’t mean we should let them. Some people would agree to work for less than the minimum wage if we let them — but we don’t, do we?” Hinkle writes. “Look, it’s really simple. If people aren’t allowed to work for $7.24 an hour, even if they want to, then they darn well shouldn’t be allowed to work for $0 an hour either. To quote America’s greatest president, Barack Obama, ‘It’s time to give America a raise.’”
— Read between the lines: Here’s one example that Senate Democrats see the writing on the wall. ”[Senate Majority Leader Harry] Reid has put his foot on the gas to ensure that Obama will leave his imprint on the courts even if Democrats lose control of Senate in November, which some political handicappers say is probable.,” The Hill notes. “Currently, nine circuit courts have a majority of Democratic-appointed judges while only four have a majority of Republican picks. The data was compiled by the Alliance for Justice, a group that tracks the third branch.” If Mitch McConnell (R-KY) becomes majority leader next year, President Obama’s court nominees would, obviously, be subject to greater scrutiny, taking more time to get them through the Senate. Elections have consequences, and they extend past the executive and legislative branches.
— Federal government will count its guns: For the first time in six years, the Justice Department will count the guns that federal agencies own. “The Justice Department’s Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS) will undertake this year’s report. It will begin surveying federal agencies about how many of their agents carry guns and have the authority to make arrests in July, according to the author of the 2008 version Brian Reaves,” The Hill reports. “Six years ago, the Justice Department found that 73 government agencies employed about 120,000 armed agents.” That 2008 report, actually released in 2012, can be viewed here. The table below shows an agency-by-agency look at the numbers.
— Documentary takes on cronyism and bureaucracy denying you of choice: The collusion between government and special interests are the subject of a new document. Freedom From Choice, a production of 100th Monkey Films, talks with several experts, including Peter Schiff and Gerald Celente, about this cronyism and how our choices are being made for us by Washington. The trailer for the film is below. We’re not endorsing everything they’re saying, though we do agree with the overall message. If you have a couple bucks to spare, head over Kickstarter and help100th Monkey Films complete this documentary.
— Happy birthday: The Internet tells us that Benny Johnson of BuzzFeed turns 28 years-old today. Drop him a line at @bennyjohnson on Twitter and wish him a happy birthday.
Other items we’re reading this morning:
Why is Burwell sailing to confirmation? (The Hill)
Scenario for a Republican nightmare in the 2016 elections (Washington Examiner)
Hillary’s secret weapon? Praise from Republican lawmakers (The Hill)
Governments Await Obama’s Move on Carbon to Gauge U.S. Climate Efforts (The New York Times)
The Koch brothers can save the Republican Party — by making it more moderate on social issues (Washington Post)
Government-run health care could be the ultimate SNAFU (Washington Examiner)
IRS Sets Sights on Frequent Flyer Miles, Hotel Points (Reason)
EPA’s next target in fight against climate change: cooking stoves (Washington Times)
Vulnerable Senate Democrats fear impact of new EPA rule (Washington Examiner)
Miami’s Venezuelans Are Starting To Drive U.S. Policy Like Their Cuban Neighbors (BuzzFeed)
Final Word on U.S. Law Isn’t: Supreme Court Keeps Editing (The New York Times)
House Takes a Jab at D.C. Gun Control Laws (Roll Call)
Immortal Keynes? (Reason)
The VA Scandal is Just the Tip of the Military Abuse Iceberg (Ron Paul Institute)
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