There’s a show from the 1980s called ALF about an alien that ends up having to live with a family after accidentally crashing into their garage. In one episode, he runs up a major gambling tab and to pay it off raises the prices on items at the family’s garage sale without their knowledge to get the money needed to pay off his debts.

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In a recent subcommittee hearing with appropriations committee, Dr. Thomas Frieden, the director of the CDC, testified to several representatives regarding the budgetary affairs of the CDC. Throughout the hearing, Dr. Frieden talked at length about the various projects the CDC had been involved with recently, particularly regarding the Zika and Ebola viruses.

Reasserting lost Congressional authority has been a major theme this year, with the creation of the Article I Project and a House task force on executive overreach. Many legislators have taken charge in curbing the waste and latency plaguing the federal government, and Rep. Cathy McMorris-Rodgers (R-WA-5) is the latest to join the fight for such accountability.

The Federal Bureau of Prisons is coming under some scrutiny from Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) and Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.). The two Kentucky Republicans recently introduced the Federal Prisons Accountability Act, S. 1784, which would require the president to appoint the director of the agency and subject the nominee to Senate confirmation under Article II, Section 2 of the Constitution.

The House is getting set to pass the 21st Century Cures Act (H.R. 6). The bill has good intentions. It is trying to do great things by reforming the patent process to streamline the research and production of drugs - getting them to patients faster, which will save lives. Unfortunately, the bill also creates a new spending program with some dubious offsets that make the overall bill difficult for conservatives to support.

On Thursday, the D.C. Circuit court voted to withdraw a previous ruling and rehear Halbig v. Burwell. The next hearing will be in December.