Free Republic

Insurers say the federal health-care marketplace is generating flawed data that is straining their ability to handle even the trickle of enrollees who have gotten through so far, in a sign that technological problems extend further than the website traffic and software issues already identified.

A new report says wealthy Maryland residents may be moving out due to recent tax hikes – a finding that is sure to escalate the battle over taxing the American rich. The study, by the anti-tax group Change Maryland, says that a net 31,000 residents left the state between 2007 and 2010, the tenure of a "millionaire's tax" pushed through by Gov. Martin O'Malley. The tax, which expired in 2010, in imposed a rate of 6.25 percent on incomes of more than $1 million a year. The Change Maryland study found that the tax cost Maryland $1.7 billion in lost...

Impending changes in Labor Department procedures for giving the media advance access to jobs data have drawn resistance from news outlets and House Republicans. With job creation a central election year issue, committee Chairman Darrell Issa, R-Calif., focused on two distinct themes: whether Labor mishandled this spring’s introduction of new information security procedures for release of jobs data and whether the Obama administration is exaggerating for political gain the number of “green jobs” it has helped create. The Labor Department “has jeopardized the integrity of employment data -- in some cases for clearly political reasons,” Issa said. “Now, without clear...

"In our 2012 annual report, we identified a total of 51 areas, including 32 areas of potential duplication, overlap, or fragmentation, as well as 19 opportunities for agencies or Congress to consider taking action that could either reduce the cost of government operations or enhance revenue collections for the Treasury. These areas involve a wide range of government missions including agriculture, defense, economic development, education, energy, general government, health, homeland security, international affairs, science and the environment, and social services. Within and across these missions, the 2012 annual report touches on virtually all major federal departments and agencies. We...

Gov. Martin O'Malley is not exactly a stranger around the White House these days. He met with President Barack Obama along with other state leaders late last week to discuss the economy. On Sunday he sat at the same table as the president for an annual governors dinner at the White House. He is a frequent guest on the national Sunday talk shows, usually defending the Obama administration's policies. So it was a bit awkward to see Obama forget O'Malley's name at an education event Monday. Sure there are 50 governors to keep track of, but O'Malley -- the chairman...

"Although CAFRA [Civil Asset Forfeiture Reform Act] enacted a provision granting attorney fees to substantially prevailing parties in civil judicial forfeitures, the regulations make it clear that the Postal Service is not liable for attorney fees or costs in administrative forfeiture proceedings, even if the matter is referred to the U.S. Attorney and the U.S. Attorney declines to initiate a judicial forfeiture on the property." - page 11437

Cardinal-designate Edwin F. O'Brien said in a strongly worded letter that the Archdiocese of Baltimore will not comply with federal law requiring churches to offer birth control coverage even it means dropping health insurance for its 3,500 employees. "We cannot – we will not – comply with this unjust law," O'Brien wrote in the letter, which was read during last Sunday's Mass at the area's 153 Roman Catholic parishes. O'Brien's letter highlights a continuing dispute over federal health care reform, and a policy that the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services says is designed to improve care for women....

The Obama presidential campaign is launching an effort to collect Republican email addresses by inviting its supporters to submit information about their Republican associates to the Obama 2012 website. The effort could help the Obama campaign build a database that would enable it to target Republican voters during the general election campaign. But, more perniciously, it could also become part of an Democratic effort to influence Republican primary voters to select a candidate Democrats think Obama could most easily defeat. The Democratic National Committee last month released a video that seemed designed to damage Mitt Romney, the GOP candidate feared...

Decision - Matter of: Technosource Information Systems, LLC; TrueTandem, LLC Finally, our Office also held a hearing in this protest. During the hearing, we again requested that GSA explain the basis for its data center location requirements. In response, GSA repeated that the solicitation had originally limited data center locations to the continental United States, but that the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) and the USTR [United States Trade Representative]considered the limitation restrictive of trade, and advised GSA to permit data centers located in foreign countries. Transcript at 13-14. During the hearing, the contracting officer testified that GSA expressed...

SUMMARY: U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) currently operates a border crossing known as Morses Line, Vermont, located within the port limits of the port of entry of Highgate Springs/ Alburg, Vermont. CBP officers are stationed at the Morses Line border crossing to accept entries of merchandise, collect duties, and enforce various provisions of the customs and immigration laws. The Morses Line border crossing is an aging facility that requires extensive upgrades and significant financial resources to update the facility to today’s modern standards of border crossings. Based on internal analyses, feedback from many individuals in the local community, and...

Incontinent spending put America $14 trillion in debt. The politicians who borrowed and spent us into debt want permission to borrow more so that they can spend more. And if they don’t get permission to borrow more money, they assure us that our debt woes will worsen. Does this seem like a solution or a rationalization? Washington is hooked on spending. Like other addicts, politicians tell lies to get their fix. Jonesing for more money, they insist that raising the debt limit is the best way to limit America’s debt. Bad habits are tough to break. Surely, dishonesty about the...

The recent Justin Bieber concert at the Timonium Fairgrounds involved a water balloon fight...and a couple of state troopers. A state police official says two troopers were hit by water balloons outside a trailer Bieber was using before the concert last Sunday at the Maryland State Fair. CLICK HERE to see WBAL TV's video of the incident. One balloon hit the chest of a trooper, but did not leak according to officials. The other brushed a gun belt and burst. No serious injuries were reported. State police are not anticipating filing any charges but they are still investigating.

IRS Issues Guidance Explaining 2011 Changes to Flexible Spending Arrangements IR-2010-95, Sept. 3, 2010 WASHINGTON — The Internal Revenue Service today issued guidance reflecting statutory changes regarding the use of certain tax-favored arrangements, such as flexible spending arrangements (FSAs), to pay for over-the-counter medicines and drugs. The Affordable Care Act, enacted in March, established a new uniform standard that, effective Jan. 1, 2011, applies to FSAs and health reimbursement arrangements (HRAs). Under the new standard, the cost of an over-the-counter medicine or drug cannot be reimbursed from the account unless a prescription is obtained. The change does not affect insulin,...

The Honorable Tom Coburn, M.D. United States Senate Subject: Oversight of DOJ Funds for Recreational Activities Dear Senator Coburn: The Department of Justice (DOJ) awards an array of law enforcement and criminal justice grants to states, localities, and private and not-for-profit organizations to help prevent crime in their communities. From fiscal years 2008 through 2009, DOJ’s Office of Justice Programs (OJP) awarded over 7,900 grants totaling over $4.2 billion. [Footnote: In fiscal year 2009, OJP also awarded an additional 3,883 grants under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, Pub. L. No. 111-5, 123 Stat. 115 totaling more than...

[Federal Register: June 16, 2010 (Volume 75, Number 115)] [Presidential Documents] [Page 33987-33988] From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov] [DOCID:fr16jn10-137] Presidential Documents [[Page 33987]] Memorandum of June 10, 2010 Disposing of Unneeded Federal Real Estate-- Increasing Sales Proceeds, Cutting Operating Costs, and Improving Energy Efficiency Memorandum for the Heads of Executive Departments and Agencies My Administration is committed to eliminating all forms of Government waste and to leading by example as our Nation transitions to a clean energy economy. For decades, the Federal Government, the largest property owner and energy user in the United States, has managed...

Section 1. Extension of Identified Benefits. The Secretary of State and the Director of the Office of Personnel Management shall, in consultation with the Department of Justice, extend the benefits they have respectively identified to qualified same-sex domestic partners of Federal employees where doing so can be achieved and is consistent with Federal law.