Phillip Swarts
Articles by Phillip Swarts
Twelve Days of Christmas valued at $27,393.17 in 2013
It's an economist's tradition — adding up the cost of the gifts from the holiday standard "The Twelve Days of Christmas." Published December 24, 2013
No ‘widespread’ misconduct in Secret Service hooker scandal - IG
A year after a high-profile scandal where members of a U.S. Secret Service advance team for President Obama hired prostitutes while in Colombia, an internal investigation has found no widespread problems in the agency, stating that the bad behavior was limited to a few individuals. Published December 20, 2013
Investigators warn of lax security at government buildings
Guards at government buildings across the nation aren't receiving proper training, federal investigators found, raising questions about their ability to safeguard federal employees and property. Published December 19, 2013
Golden Hammer: U.S. paid $5 million for incinerators that sit idle in Afghanistan
More than $5 million of taxpayer money went up in smoke because the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers bought garbage incinerators in Afghanistan that have never been used and are now being dismantled, an investigation found. Published December 19, 2013
Former Homeland Security Inspector General target of abuse complaints
The embattled inspector general at the Department of Homeland Security was the target of a number of internal employee complaints for abuse of power before his surprise decision to step down this week, according to documents shown to The Washington Times by an outside watchdog group. Published December 18, 2013
IG faced internal complaints at Homeland Security, record show
The embattled inspector general at the Department of Homeland Security was the target of internal employee complaints for abuse of power before his surprise decision to step down earlier this week, according to new documents supplied to The Washington Times by an outside watchdog group. Published December 18, 2013
Charles Edwards, criticized Homeland Security IG, leaving post
Charles Edwards, the acting Homeland Security inspector general who has both investigated controversy and come under scrutiny himself, has been reassigned amid congressional criticism of his oversight record. Published December 17, 2013
Railroad safety agency stretched thin and getting thinner, watchdog warns
The nation's foremost railroad watchdog is potentially facing a serious workforce shortage, raising questions about its ability to ensure safety after a string of high-profile accidents. Published December 15, 2013
Medicare pays full price for half-empty vials of medicine
After the Obamacare fiasco, the Health and Human Services Department must be a glass-half-empty kind of place. Just ask the folks at Medicare, who wasted $24.2 million paying for partly used vials of a type of breast cancer medicine. Published December 12, 2013
John Podesta’s return to White House will test Obama’s pledge against lobbyists
The Democratic strategist whom President Obama has summoned to right a flailing White House also poses an optics challenge for an administration that has gone to great pains to distance itself from lobbying and influence makers. Published December 11, 2013
Report: Old courthouses need $760M in repairs
The cost to the federal government to build new courthouses could be much higher than originally thought, a new report has found, as estimates often leave off the costs of repairing and selling old structures the new construction will replace. Published December 9, 2013
IG: Postal Service jettisoned valuable equipment
Investigators say that an Atlanta sorting facility ditched 20 of its mail loaders, labeling them as lost, stolen, destroyed or not found. Published December 6, 2013
Golden Hammer: IRS missing out on late-fee payday, inspector says
Investigators think the nation's tax collection agency could be missing out on an annual $31 million payday because it's incorrectly revoking late fees it assesses to corporate individuals. Published December 5, 2013
Homeland Security at risk of computer breach
Created to safeguard the nation, the Department of Homeland Security is instead having difficulty ensuring its own computers are protected from hacking and cybersecurity breaches, a new report says. Published December 4, 2013
Golden Hammer: Autism research gets federal aid not once, but twice
The latest case of duplicative spending is the roughly $1.4 billion the government spent on autism research from 2008 to 2012. But investigators at the Government Accountability Office, Congress' watchdog arm, are concerned that as much as 84 percent of that money was spent on redundant research. Published November 28, 2013
Taste of the holidays: Uncle Sam racks up a turkey bill
Turns out the federal government has a hankering of its own for turkey on Thanksgiving Day. Published November 27, 2013
NASA under fire for bonus payments to contractors
The internal watchdog for NASA says the nation's space agency has doled out tens of millions of dollars in bonus money to its contractors — without even first making sure whether they had done the work well or not. Published November 25, 2013
During chilly November, feds jet off to Caribbean resort at taxpayer expense
A group of federal officials skipped chilly Washington this month for a taxpayer-funded trip to the Virgin Islands in the name of protecting the world's coral reef. Published November 21, 2013
Nuclear waste site evaluations to restart over Reid’s objections
Saying it was responding to an order from the courts, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission said Monday it has resumed staff work on the feasibility of the long-stalled Yucca Mountain nuclear waste repository in Nevada, despite the fierce opposition of Senate Democratic leader Harry Reid and President Obama to the Yucca site. Published November 18, 2013
Probe finds money-saving technology leaves IRS vulnerable to hacking
A new cost-saving computer technology being implemented by the IRS has left the agency vulnerable to hacking, putting taxpayers' info at risk, an investigative report has found. Published November 18, 2013