Poor VA Secretary Bob McDonald. Neither he nor the Veterans Health Administration he oversees can ever catch a break. On May 23, a reporter questioned McDonald about the VHA’s tracking of patient appointment times around the country. McDonald’s predecessor was forced to quit over allegations of appointment delays and a cover-up at a Phoenix VHA […]
Obama Administration
Posted inMoney, Politics, and Power
Presidential Transition Demands Transparency
Experts agree that the presidential transfer of power should start now, but just as urgent is the need to strip back the veil of secrecy that has shrouded past transitions.
Posted inAmerica and the World
Pentagon Continues to Mull Over Lifting Ban on Transgender Troops
LGBT advocates were elated when Defense Secretary Ash Carter announced that the Pentagon intended to lift the military’s longstanding ban on transgender members, saying that the current policy was an “outdated, confusing, inconsistent approach that’s contrary to our value of individual merit.” Nine months later, the transgender community is still waiting for the department to […]
Posted inLaw and Justice
DOL Releases Bold New Retirement Investment Protections
Flanked by Democratic allies in Congress on Wednesday, Secretary of Labor Tom Perez unveiled the final version of the long-awaited fiduciary rule, which requires that, like doctors and lawyers, retirement account brokers must act in their clients’ best interest. “It really puts in place a fundamental principle of consumer protection into the American retirement marketplace, […]
Posted inEconomic Policy
The Labor Prospect: The Department of Labor Is on a Rulemaking Run
The Obama administration moves to solidify the president’s legacy on labor issues, and economists debate the impact of minimum-wage increases.
Posted inMoney, Politics, and Power
Barack Obama Is Looking Better and Better
His approval ratings are up. It might have something to do with the clowns on the other side.
Posted inEducation in America
North Carolina Educators Fight Deportations of Central American Students
Teachers across the state are uniting in their call to end the raids, which have disrupted the education of immigrant students.
Posted inEducation in America
North Carolina Educators Fight Deportations of Central American Students
Teachers across the state are uniting in their call to end the raids, which have disrupted the education of immigrant students.
Posted inMoney, Politics, and Power
Will Disclosure Fight Doom SEC Nominees?
The question of whether the Securities and Exchange Commission should require public corporations to more publicly disclose their political spending has emerged as a growing point of contention in Senate deliberations over who should serve on the SEC. At a Senate Banking Committee hearing this week to consider two potential commissioners nominated by President Barack […]
Posted inLaw and Justice
Obama and the Supreme Court: Lose Today, Win Tomorrow?
In choosing a successor to Antonin Scalia, Obama would do well to play the long game and consider a nominee with strong progressive credentials.
