Federal Spending
The Trump Administration's Science Budget Memo Leaves Out Climate Science
Every similar pre-Trump memo that Pacific Standard found from the last 15 years identified climate science as a top priority.
The Potential Ramifications of Trump's Proposed Infrastructure Plan
The president's proposed $1 trillion infrastructure investment could heat up the debate around the role of the federal government in local planning and policy.
U.S. Seeking LGBT Health Data in Future Surveys
In a little remarked upon sign of the times, U.S. government health surveys will start asking Americans to check a box about their sexual orientation in 2013.
Did Stimulus Spending Quench America's Economic Thirst?
Washington dumped torrents of stimulus dollars across the American landscape to keep the U.S. economy from dying on the vine, but most of the spending won't bear fruit until 2015.
Federal Contractors May Be Told to Disclose Donations
In an end run around the "Citizens United" Supreme Court decision it disliked, the Obama administration is considering having all federal contractors disclose their political donations.
We Should Care This Much About Earmarks? Really?
Earmarks are not a big deal, say political scientists. Most are perfectly justifiable, and they definitely aren't to blame for the "eruption of spending" from Washington.