Open, Accountable Government
Statement from Gary D. Bass on Privacy Violation in Government Data
Apr 20, 2007 by Brian Gumm
WASHINGTON, April 20, 2007—It has become public information today that the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has been including Social Security numbers in a data field that identifies certain public financial transactions with government (e.g., loans). In response, OMB Watch has taken two actions. First, we have temporarily redacted the information in the USDA data field, which serves as a unique identifier, from our online service, FedSpending.org. Second, we call on the federal government to immediately remedy the privacy violation by providing a new unique identifier that does not contain personally identifiable information.
read in fullOMB's Portman Still Drinking the Kool-Aid
Apr 20, 2007 by Matt Lewis
Rob Portman is in the Hill today, doing his best to spin the Congressional budget resolutions.
One of his comments stands out:
I'm disappointed that the budget pays for all that new spending with taxes, which I think will put at risk the very economic growth that has given us the increased revenues over the last few years to be able to reduce the deficit.
read in fullRecords for the Record
Apr 19, 2007 by Adam Hughes*
Tuesday was Tax Day, and if anything it' a reminder that, as Americans, we're all united by at least one thing: a four-digit number, "1040." That's right - even the president and vice president are just like everybody else on Tax Day.
read in fullProgressivity, Part II: The Payroll Perspective
Apr 18, 2007 by Dana Chasin
Following up on yesterday look at progressivity's tipping point:
read in fullPolar Bears: Don't Ask, Don't Tell
Apr 17, 2007 by Sam Kim
New accusations of manipulating scientific information and gagging government scientists have arisen amidst the government's consideration of listing polar bears as an endangered species. Memos that censored scientists traveling to countries around the Arctic region and draft reports that were significantly altered in their final form have fueled these concerns.
read in fullCongress Urged to Reform USA PATRIOT Act
Apr 17, 2007 by Sam Kim
Congress continues to exercise oversight of the Federal Bureau of Investigation's (FBI) misuse of USA PATRIOT Act powers. The Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on the Constitution, Civil Rights and Property Rights held a hearing on the Department of Justice (DOJ) Inspector General report on the misreporting and abuse of National Security Letter (NSL) powers. A common theme from the four witnesses at the hearing was the need for Congress to reform the USA PATRIOT Act and curtail the FBI's NSL powers.
read in fullCalifornia Moves to Reinstate Reporting Standards Weakened by Federal EPA
Apr 17, 2007 by Sam Kim
California, a leader in strong environmental policy, has introduced a bill that would restore reporting requirements for toxic chemicals to pre-U.S. EPA rollback threshold levels. As the federal government weakens toxic waste regulation, states are taking charge of the Toxics Release Inventory (TRI) and prioritizing the protection of their residents. The California Toxic Release Inventory Program Act of 2007 (Assembly Bill 833) maintains the previous level of reporting and prevents the federal changes from impacting the state program.
read in fullWhy Health Care Is So Expensive In the US
Apr 13, 2007 by Matt Lewis
Why are health care costs rising so fast?
In the long-term, that is the most important question before the fiscal policy community. The long-term budget imbalance threatens to do great harm to government programs and the economy, and rising health care costs account for ALL of the spending that outpaces revenues for the foreseeable future. Not Social Security, not entitlements, not an aging population- health care programs, driven by rising prices in the private market.
read in fullThe Chunk of Your Tax Bill That Just Doesn't Matter
Apr 12, 2007 by Dana Chasin
The Chaney Fiscal Theorem, which asserts that Deficits Don't Matter, was the dominant view underlying the tax and budget policies of the nation's governing party for most of this decade.
read in fullHow Good Was the Post-WW II era?
Apr 11, 2007 by Matt Lewis
Craig excerpts an interesting article below that reminds us that there was once a time when the median wage tracked productivity- or, as I like to think, a time when people were paid what they earned.
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