Bankrupting America; Weekly Recap: Who's In Charge Around Here?‏

Hi there,

Somehow, we made it through another week. While you enjoy the improving weather and holiday festivities, here's our recap of the past week's events:
1) Congress on recess. Our legislators departed for their week-long Easter recess, heading for cover following the intense budget wars of the past few weeks. As they travel about the country, give a look and see just who pays for congressional travel.

2) Cashing out in Cyprus. Cyprus continued to struggle financially even after striking a bailout deal with the EU, with some of the nation’s biggest depositors taking a larger loss than previously anticipated as part of the bargain.

3) White House budget. The White House budget has been scheduled for release on April 10. The looming question over the presidential budget is entitlement reform, with The New York Times reporting that President Obama may be open to changes in Medicare.

4) A big week for waste. Even with Congress out of town, stories of Washington’s wasteful spending weren’t hard to find. The Department of Energy “mismanaged” some $1.5 billion in stimulus funding, the IRS spent $60,000 to shoot a Star Trek parody, and the National Science Foundation handed out a $880,000 grant to study the benefits of snail sex. You read that right.

5) A 24th century wake-up call for Washington. Following the IRS’ wasteful (and, let’s face it, woefully non-canon) Star Trek spinoff, we turned to the crew of the starship Enterprise for their reactions to Washington’s big-spending antics.