Op-Eds

Sep 8, 2015

EPA’s toxic environment: Sexual harassment running rampant

A young, female research fellow at the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is inappropriately hugged, touched, grabbed and even kissed by a male EPA employee almost three times her age. Assaulted on a near daily basis with lewd and suggestive verbal comments, she dreads going to the office each day. Another 21-year old female intern reports being sexually harassed by an EPA official who has victimized at least sixteen other women throughout his 31-year career. Listening to these stories, ...
Jul 12, 2015

Pull the plug on the Ex-Im Bank: Opposing view

"I'm not a Democrat who believes that we can or should defend every government program, just because it's there. Like … the Export-Import Bank that's become little more than a fund for corporate welfare." These are 
Jul 25, 2015

Cleaning Up the Federal Cyber Debacle

America’s digital infrastructure is under constant attack. I know this not only from reading the news, but also from spending nine years as an undercover CIA officer and four years as a senior adviser with FusionX, the cybersecurity firm where I worked before being elected to Congress. The U.S.’s adversaries are constantly trying to steal its private-sector innovations and military and intelligence secrets. The recent theft of millions of federal-employee personnel records from the Office ...
Jun 21, 2015

Make no mistake: Mexico is in crisis

The most violent, brutal, and lawless place on the planet right now may not actually be half a world away in the Middle East, but right next door in Mexico. Since Mexico’s drug war began to escalate in 2006, more than 100,000 Mexican residents have been murdered or gone missing according to the State Department’s Overseas Security Advisory Council. Kidnapping, human trafficking, and the brutal dismemberment and display of murder victims is far too commonplace. These incidents are taking ...
Apr 28, 2015

Federal Rules Support Incompetence

Just what does a federal employee have to do to get fired? At the Environmental Protection Agency, a federal employee who does no work is paid a full salary plus a performance award. This despite having no building pass, no computer connected to the EPA network and no evidence of having completed any work in at least five years. In addition to being paid roughly $600,000 by the American taxpayers during this time period, this employee was allowed to retire with a full pension. In Phoenix, 40 ...
Apr 27, 2015

We need to address ‘deep, systemic problems’ to improve federal workforce morale

The U.S. federal workforce is the greatest public workforce in the world. Oftentimes, federal workers are unfairly viewed as just another cog in the wheel, when in reality our workforce is comprised of thousands of individuals committed to making a difference in the lives of their fellow Americans. From the history buff at the National Archives and Records Administration seeking to preserve historic documents for generations to come to the security expert at the Department of Homeland Security ...
Apr 15, 2015

If you work for our government, you must pay your taxes: Tax cheats shouldn’t be working for We the People

Whether we like it or not, the law requires that we pay taxes. Unfortunately, a significant number of federal workers have failed to do so and are responsible for $1 billion in unpaid taxes. Those charged with the stewardship of our federal resources and programs should not be among the most delinquent taxpayers. Civil service and contract positions in the federal government are highly sought after. There is a reason federal government jobs turn over at half the rate of private sector ...
Aug 5, 2014

Darrell Issa: The best response to the border crisis

While the White House has been selling a narrative reliant on a surge of gang violence pushing refugee children from their homeland, we learned a more complete story of aggressive advertisement of immigration relief, or “permisos,” and the desire for reunification with an illegally present adult in the U.S. before the president finalizes comprehensive immigration reform or expands anti-deportation policies.
Jul 31, 2014

The Disability Dilemma

For our neighbors, friends, and even family members who can no longer work for medical reasons, the federal Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) program is a lifeline. The program is teetering on bankruptcy, which means large benefit cuts for current beneficiaries or a massive taxpayer bailout. We can avoid this unnecessary catastrophe for the disabled and taxpayers with real leadership. The president has recently nominated Carolyn Colvin to be the next commissioner of the ...
Jul 30, 2014

As a new Cold War looms, it’s time to stand up to Russian provocations

Russia has allowed innocents to die because of these actions and more are at risk if this is left unchecked. There must be repercussions for this heinous and senseless act. The international community must speak with one voice and the United States must stand tall with our allies.
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