Let’s hope the Andrew Speaker TB case will at last prompt a major news organization to take a serious look at the Centers for Disease Control (CDC).  (more…)

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services has increased applicant fees to fund 90 percent of the agency’s budget, but inefficiencies and delays remain the rule at this troubled agency.  Spencer Hsu reports in the Washington Post that in recent years "the longer applicants waited" for an answer to their applications, "the more they paid."  A former high-level staffer at the agency referred to this practice as "a Ponzi scheme . . . the money that current applicants were paying, we were using to adjudicate older cases" and to cover a 2004 current accounts deficit of $500 million.  More here.

It’s difficult to respond to something that might happen. But presidential administrations and the entire American endeavor will be judged by history not just on the threat of jihadi terrorism, but on (more…)

Drug companies have been able to find out what doctors are prescribing and recommend their own products as alternatives, according to an article by Christopher Lee of the Washington Post.  Legislatures in at least 13 states are trying to pass laws restricting drug companies that engage in "datamining" and then contact physicians.  More here.

The heads of America’s Arabic-language television service, Al Hurra, do not speak Arabic.  The network is in the news because it has broadcast, unedited, the speeches and interviews of extremists from Hamas and Hezbollah.  According to Helene Cooper’s report in the New York Times, one network executive “testified that network officials [make] sure to question the Arabic-speaking staff about what [goes] on the air.”  More here.

Inspectors General, the in-house examiners of employee conduct at federal agencies, have received positive reviews of late, but the allegations surrounding the Commerce Department’s IG, Johnnie Frazier, make clear the potential for abuse this important position holds, as John Solomon and Joe Stephens report in the Washington Post.  More here.

An interagency group fighting Medicare fraud laid the groundwork for the arrests of 38 people in South Florida, Carrie Johnson reports in the Washington Post.  Specialists from the Department of Justice, including the FBI, and the Department of Health and Human Services combined forces and found abuse and fake reimbursements schemes costing up to $2.5 billion in taxpayers’ money.  HHS Secretary Michael Levitt visited some of the false-front Medicare recipients.  More here.

Truckers who want to reduce their carbon footprint can save the world and save money too, reports Marketplace’s Chris Lehman.  Using funds from an Environmental Protection Agency grant, an Oregon social entrepreneur named Sharon Banks is selling energy-saving devices to truckers, who can cool truck cabins with their engines off and sense when a tire is losing pressure to improve gas mileage.  More on the EPA’s Clean Diesel program here. 

Welcome to Understanding Government, the website devoted to reporting on the executive branch of government, with a particular focus on federal agencies.  The executive branch is where the real work of government gets done, where tax monies are spent, and where policies become reality. 

We encourage everyone who visits the site to comment on anything of interest, and we welcome your ideas for stories and topics we should pursue.

We have just a few guidelines for the site:

• In order to preserve your anonymity, we do not ask participants to register before contributing to this site. We do not use cookies or any other technique to acquire information about the participants. 
• We welcome your comments in any form — whether you write in anonymously, give yourself a handle, or give your full name.  All respectful comments will be treated respectfully, and rude or abusive entries will be deleted by the site administrator.
• Whenever practical, please cite your sources.  If referring to others’ work, please cite or quote and provide a link.   
• To report offensive postings or problems with the site, or if you have suggestions, please contact Ned Hodgman at ehodgman – at – understandinggov.org.

Again, welcome to Understanding Government and we look forward to working with you to improve coverage of America’s democracy where it really matters — in the executive branch.