Blog: The Fine Print / Revenue & Spending

Why the Rush to Clear the War Appropriations?

May 24, 2007 by Matt Lewis

As regards the war funding bill, Democrats are fatigued. So here's a word of non-partisan strategic advice- take a breather. Relax. Just do nothing for while and see if events on the ground change the politics back home. Anyway, it now seems that Democrats just don't want this fight. From CQ: "The problem is that we have to provide money for the troops, and if we don't, the Democrats will be blamed," added Rep. James P. Moran, D-Va., a war opponent. "Bush has the bully pulpit, so he will define who is responsible."

read in full

Daylight between Rangel, Neal on AMT Reform?

May 23, 2007 by Dana Chasin

House Ways and Means Committee chair Charles B. Rangel (D-NY) has long and loudly said that he "wants to "rearrange" the Bush tax cuts, shifting tax relief from the wealthiest beneficiaries to the middle-class victims of the AMT. Rangel reminds us frequently that he's 76 (remember, green bananas?) and serious-minded about solving the AMT promblem promptly and simply -- sans Rube Goldberg extranea.

read in full

More Bad News for Head of GSA

May 23, 2007 by Craig Jennings

This has not been a good week so far for the leader of the General Services Administration. Additional information on problems at GSA have catapulted Administrator Lurita Doan back into the headlines - and the news isn't good.

read in full

Statement, Hearing on IRS Privatization

May 23, 2007 by Adam Hughes*

OMB Watch contributed this statement to a hearing on the IRS private debt collection program. At the hearing, which was held by the full House Ways and Means Committee, Rep. Charlie Rangel asked acting commissioner of the IRS Kevin Brown to not issue any more contracts to private debt collectors. Commissioner Brown did give a clear response, but Rep. Rangel seemed intent on reaching a compromise with IRS that contained the size of the program, making it unnecessary to immediately pass legislation that would end it.

read in full

Supplemental Update: The Troops on the Hill Weary

May 22, 2007 by Adam Hughes*

A pared-down version of the war funding supplemental is currently scheduled to hit the House floor on Thursday, May 24, with Senate action expected later that day or early the next. The bill appears likely to include the federal minimum wage increase and and extension of about $4.8 billion in small-business tax cuts. Whether domestic emergency appropiations will remain is yet to be determined.

read in full

TPC Offers Politically Saleable, Zero-Sum AMT Repeal

May 22, 2007 by Dana Chasin

The Tax Policy Center has just issued research results and recommendations regarding repeal of the AMT that merit serious attention. As the New York Times reports today in Group Offers a Simple Fix for Alternative Minimum Tax, TPC's proposal features a reversion back to pre-Bush earned and investment tax rates on couples earning over $200,000 and singles earning half that.

read in full

New Report: War Funding and the Feed and Forage Act

May 22, 2007 by Matt Lewis

OMB Watch has just put out a report on a little-known law -the Feed and Forage Act- that seems to give the President broad powers to fund war efforts- even without an enacted appropriations bill. So even if the negotiations over the war funding supplemental drag on, the President could meet the needs of the soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan. Read the whole thing if you have the chance.

read in full

House Reform Members Might Get Slammed by "Revolving Door"

May 21, 2007 by Dana Chasin

Late last week, the House leadership agreed to remove the "revolving door" provision from the lobbying and ethics bill. The bill is scheduled to reach the House floor for a vote this Thursday, right before Congress leaves for Memorial Day. The revolving door provision in the Senate version of the bill calls for a two-year "cooling off period" after members retire from Congress before they are allowed to lobby their former colleagues.

read in full

House GOP Plots Spending Veto Override Campaign

May 18, 2007 by Dana Chasin

The day after Congress adopted a budget resolution for FY08, the Republican Study Committee sent a letter to the president pledging support for a presidential veto of fiscal 2008 appropriations bills. The letter says that the resolution "greatly exceeds" (by $23 billion out of $956 billion) Bush's budget request for discretionary funding. OMB Director Rob Portman has said twice in two weeks that he would recommend the president veto any appropriations bills that exceed Bush's request. According to the RSC:

read in full

You Might Have Thought I Was Done Talking About Contracting, But You'd Be Wrong

May 18, 2007 by Matt Lewis

One thing lacking from the last couple of posts on privatization was good old-fashioned data. Well, here's one place to start- a thoughtful analysis of a couple of cases studies where local and state services were privatized. Apparently, privatizing certain services turned out to be much more expensive than when government did the work. How come? First, contracted services can be complex (emph. mine).

read in full

Pages

Subscribe to The Fine Print: blog posts from Center for Effective Government
  • ©2025 Project On Government Oversight
  • All Rights Reserved.
  • This an archive site of the materials produced by the Center for Effective Government (formerly OMB Watch) and is maintained by the Project On Government Oversight.