The federal debt has increased $2.5 trillion over the past two years, during a time when federal spending has been governed by a series of deals cut between Republican House Speaker John Boehner and Democratic President Barack Obama.
Boehner became speaker on Jan. 5, 2011, when the 112th Congress began its first session. At that time, the federal government was operating under a continuing resolution (CR) passed on Dec. 21, 2010 by the previous Congress.
On March 1, 2011, Boehner and Obama made their first spending deal to provide funding for the government after the then-current CR expired on the March 4, 2011. Since then, consistent with Congress's constitutional authority over spending, all federal spending has been conducted under legislation approved by the Republican-controlled House and agreed to by the Democrat-controlled Senate and President Obama.
At the close of business on March 4, 2011, when the first Boehner-Obama spending deal took effect, the federal debt was $14,182,627,184,881.03, according to the U.S. Treasury. As of the close of business on March 6, 2013, when the Republican-controlled House passed its latest CR, the federal debt was $16,692,238,790,019.20.
That means the federal government's debt has increased $2,509,611,605,138.17 since the first Boehner-Obama deal took effect.
There are now approximately 115,031,000 households in the United States, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. The $2,509,611,605,138.17 increase in the debt since the first Boehner-Obama equals about $21,817 per household.
That means under Boehner-Obama spending deals, federal debt per household has been increasing at a pace of about $10,909 per year.
http://cnsnews.com/news/article/boehner-obama-deals-produce-25t-new-debt-2-years-21817-household
TSA screeners allow fed agent with fake bomb to pass through security at Newark Airport
An undercover TSA inspector with an improvised explosive device stuffed in his pants got past two security screenings at Newark Airport — including a pat-down — and was cleared to get on board a commercial flight, sources told The Post yesterday.
The breach took place Feb. 25, when the Transportation Security Administration’s special operations team — the agency’s version of internal affairs — staged a mock intrusion at the airport.
“This episode once again demonstrates how Newark Airport is the Ground Zero of TSA failures,” a source said.
With the inert “bomb” stashed somewhere in his pants, he got through the magnetometer undetected at around 11 a.m. He was then pulled aside for a physical screening, and a TSA agent failed to discover the IED and allowed the “bomber” to go to his gate.
“He did have a simulated IED in his pants,” the source said. “They did not find it.”
The exact makeup of the mock IED was not available, but even devices small enough to be stashed in a passenger’s pants could blow a hole through a plane’s fuselage.
TSA inspectors have previously used mock bombs modeled after devices used by 2009 “underwear bomber” Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab and 2001 “shoe bomber” Richard Reid.
Only one member of the TSA’s terror team was stopped at the checkpoint — a female agent “carrying a simulated IED inside her carry-on that was inside a child’s doll,” the source said.
It had “wires sticking out” and was obviously suspicious and she was pulled aside, sources say.
The Red Team also targeted Terminal C the same day, although results from that test were unclear.
The TSA said in a statement that it would not provide details of any of its undercover operations.
“TSA regularly conducts covert testing of security layers. Regardless of the tests’ outcome, TSA officers are provided with immediate on-the-spot feedback so they receive the maximum training value that the drills offer,” the statement said.
“Due to the security-sensitive nature of the tests, TSA does not publicly share details about how they are conducted, what specifically is tested or the outcomes.”
Newark Airport, which has 1,400 screeners and supervisors, has long struggled with security.
Last year, 52 baggage and traveler screeners were fired and another 19 disciplined for major security lapses and thefts.
Newark Airport was where a screener left a note saying, “Get your freak on, girl,” after finding a vibrator in the bag of a Manhattan attorney in 2011.
And it was where, in 2010, an airport “Romeo” was able to walk unticketed and unscreened into a secure area so he could kiss his girlfriend goodbye.
Despite the security woes, the TSA this week declared it would soon allow travelers to carry non-locking knives up to 2.36 inches in length and a half-inch width onto airplanes.
http://www.nypost.com/p/news/local/newark_tsa_bomb_boozled_eTIZBp2X7B299qO5WCWvAK
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