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Eric Pianin is the Washington Editor and D.C. bureau chief of The Fiscal Times. A veteran journalist who spent over 25 years as an editor and reporter for The Washington Post, he has covered D.C. government, congressional budget and tax issues, environmental policy, homeland security and national politics. He served as The Post’s domestic policy editor and congressional editor and spent two years as a national political editor for washingtonpost.com. A native of Detroit, Pianin graduated from Michigan State University and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism and previously worked for The Louisville Times, The Minneapolis Star and The Minneapolis Tribune. He also covered the health care reform debate in Congress for Kaiser Health News.
Recent Stories By Eric Pianin:
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The US Spends Billions on Cybersecurity — but No One Is Sure Exactly How MuchAugust 6, 2017
In the wake of Russian meddling in the 2016 presidential election, massive breaches of IRS tax records, and the theft of more than four million employee files from the Office of Personnel Management...
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A High-Tech Speedboat Gives US Navy SEALs a Stealthy New ThreatAugust 4, 2017
The military is typically tightlipped about its cutting-edge weaponry, so it was a little surprising when the U.S. Central Command recently revealed that the Navy’s stealthy Combatant Craft Assault...
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The Looming Fiscal Train Wreck Means Trump Won’t Get His Wall. Here’s WhyAugust 4, 2017
Congress has religiously missed its deadline for passing a budget and related spending bills for eight consecutive years. And from the looks of a looming fiscal train wreck this fall, congressional...
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How Could the VA Make $5.5 Billion in Improper Payments Last Year?August 3, 2017
Sen. Claire McCaskill of Missouri has been on a tear recently in going after government fraud and waste. The ranking Democrat on the Senate’s chief oversight committee and a former state auditor in...
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Congress Just Handed Trump Bragging Rights on Expanded GI Education BenefitsAugust 3, 2017
For a chief executive preparing to leave town on a 17-day summer vacation after suffering a humiliating setback on health care reform, President Trump will be able to claim some bragging rights when...
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Obamacare Insurers Are Seeking Premium Hikes of as Much as 30%August 2, 2017
Amid President Trump’s threats to undercut the Affordable Care Act, the nation’s health insurers are warning of a fresh round of premium increases as high as 30 percent in some portions of the...
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Why Republicans Are Going It Alone on Tax CutsAugust 2, 2017
President Trump predicted recently that passing major tax reform this year would be a walk in the park compared to the GOP’s failed effort to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act. “I think...
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US Employers Are Skipping Out on Billions in Payroll TaxesAugust 2, 2017
The U.S. tax gap – the difference between federal taxes owed by businesses and individuals and those actually paid -- is enormous. According to the most recent analysis by the Internal Revenue...
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How Drug Companies Are Driving Up Costs in US PrisonsAugust 1, 2017
The combination of an aging population, rising medical service costs and staggering increases in prescription drug prices for treating hepatitis C and cancer sparked a 37 percent overall increase in...
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The Big Risk Trump Is Taking by Threatening Congress’ Health InsuranceJuly 31, 2017
By threatening the subsidized health insurance of members of Congress if they fail to pass legislation to repeal the Affordable Care Act, President Trump may be playing a shrewd political hand as he...
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Pentagon Again Evades Scrutiny Over Number of Contract WorkersJuly 31, 2017
The Defense Department makes generous use of contract employees to supplement its hundreds of thousands of full-time civilian employees. Indeed, roughly 60 percent of the $1.5 billion that was spent...
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Price Says Eliminating the ACA’s Individual Mandate Is Trump’s Top PriorityJuly 30, 2017
In the wake of the collapse of the Republicans’ seven-year effort to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act, a major question is whether a vengeful President Trump will make good on his threat to...