government

Taylor Berman · 09/30/13 01:41PM

With nine hours remaining until the midnight deadline, the Senate just voted 54-46 to reject the House budget proposal that would have delayed Obamacare for a year. The bill now returns to the House.

The Government's Security-Check Provider "Flushed" Files to Get Paid

Tom Scocca · 09/27/13 03:58PM

Remember when Al Gore and the Clinton Administration made everyone happy by "reinventing government" back in the '90s, on the principle that government functions would be more efficient if a third-party private intermediary were taking profits on them, because the invisible hand of the free market will always produce optimal results? The New York Times has an update on the operations of USIS, the company born in 1996 with the privatization of the Office of Personnel Management's investigative operations.

Taylor Berman · 09/20/13 11:10AM

House Republicans just advanced a bill that would continue to fund the government for the next three months, but would also remove all funding for President Obama's healthcare plan. If the Senate doesn't approve the bill — and it won't - much of the federal government could shut down on October 1.

Cord Jefferson · 09/17/13 07:41PM

Do with this as you wish, but it could be a trap: "Budget cuts are hurting the Internal Revenue Service's ability to go after tax cheats, the agency's inspector general said Tuesday."

Now We Decide If Privacy Will Continue to Exist

Hamilton Nolan · 06/07/13 01:38PM

Ever since 9/11, the American government has been busily constructing the most comprehensive surveillance state in this country's history. This vast and invasive bureaucracy is too big to hide, but the public has done its part by politely ignoring it. No longer. Now is when we, the people, choose whether or not we will accept the end of privacy as we know it. If history is any indication, we will.

CIA's Tech Head on Your Data: 'We Try To Collect Everything And Hang On To It Forever'

Cord Jefferson · 03/21/13 12:06PM

The man who introduced the CIA's Chief Technology Officer, Ira "Gus" Hunt, at yesterday's GigaOM Structure:Data conference in New York City thought it would be funny to quip, "If you don't give a big round of applause for our next speaker, he's gonna find out and it's gonna go on your permanent record." It was supposed to be a little joke, but then Hunt took the stage for his speech on "Big Data," told everyone that the CIA is now attempting to "collect everything and hang on to it forever," and suddenly it wasn't so funny anymore.

Jon Stewart Bashes Obama for Backing 'Indefinite Detention' Bill

Matt Cherette · 12/08/11 03:04AM

After Congress passed a version of the National Defense Authorization Act last week that allows for indefinite military detention of citizens without a trial on America soil, we pointed out 20 of its most alarming provisions. President Obama not only has the ability to veto any of those provisions, but has also previously spoken out against indefinite detention. So we're good,! Except that, as Jon Stewart explained on tonight's Daily Show, we're actually not.