Blog: The Fine Print / Revenue & Spending

MoJo: Road Privatization Just The Beginning

Dec 19, 2006 by Matt Lewis

Mother Jones has a good article on the privatization fad that's sweeping the nation. A deal in Indiana to sell a toll road to a private company has started up conversations across the country about privatizing other roads. Which public assets are next? And how far will privatization go?

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OMB Reveals Lack of Progress on E-Gov

Dec 19, 2006 by Matt Lewis

GovExec reports today that the Bush administration's push for "E-government" has not yet to show big returns, according a report by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB). E-gov is one of the five planks of the President's management agenda. The basic idea is to make government programs and data easier to use by setting up "one-stop shop" websites. A lot of these websites are up and running. Check out Grants.gov for a good example.

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ADDENDUM: 100 Hours Rules Package and Rationales

Dec 15, 2006 by Dana Chasin

TODAY, The office of the House Democratic Leadership released an Honest Leadership/Open Government Rules Package," identifying ethics, lobbying, and key process reform priorities, as well as rationales for their selection.

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Are Unfair Fiscal Policies Hurting Support for War?

Dec 15, 2006 by Matt Lewis

EJ Dionne has an insightful column on a vital question that's been coming up a lot recently: how should we pay for wars? This debate began as a moral one. Dionne thinks that conservatives have paid for the Iraq and Afghanistan wars in an unfair, irresponsible way. Through it all, they've supported lower taxes for the wealthy, run high deficits, and cut domestic programs.

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Pelosi Promises Key Budget Process Reforms

Dec 15, 2006 by Dana Chasin

In a press conference yesterday, incoming House Speak Nancy Pelosi re-affirmed her commitment to key budget process reforms long-supported by OMB Watch. Among the "First 100 Hours" rules package will be the following reforms:
  • EARMARKS: mandatory disclosure of all earmarks and the requirement that members certify that spouses do not directly benefit from the added project
  • DEFICIT DISCIPLINE: budget Reconciliations will not be considered if they reduce the budget surplus or increase the deficit

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Sen. Murray on Earmark-Free CR's Impact

Dec 15, 2006 by Matt Lewis

Here's an interesting article on the mixed blessings of an earmark-free funding year. Congressional Democrats will strip all pet-project "earmarks" from the 2007 federal budget early next year to help pay for the war in Iraq, says U.S. Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash. But that move will have a downside for Clark County, she said Wednesday. Murray's address to the Vancouver Rotary Club delivered a stiff dose of fiscal reality.

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OMB Watch Speaks Out On GSA Missteps

Dec 14, 2006 by Matt Lewis

OMB Watch has made a public statement on the General Service Adminstration's (GSA) controversial decision to reduce and outsource oversight over government contracts. To reduce oversight, GSA wants to undercut its accomplished Office of the Inspector General (OIG). The GSA OIG has exposed irresponsible contractors at Abu Ghraib, and did investigations that led to the high-profile conviction of David Safavian, the former GSA chief of staff. So why is GSA trying to have OIG do less investigating? And how is it that manipulating oversight this way is even possible?

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PAYGO and War Costs: A Red-Ink-Herring

Dec 14, 2006 by Dana Chasin

A story in today's New York Times entitled "Democrats Plan to Take Control of Iraq Spending" raises a number of interesting questions about budgeting war costs. How can you put such an unpredictable item as war costs into an annual budget? Should war funding requests go to appropriations or a substantive policy review committee such as armed services? What degree of congressional oversight is appropriate for an emergency supplemental spending request? Reporter Carl Hulse raises one issue, however, that is a complete red-ink-herring:

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Katrina Recovery Stagnating?

Dec 14, 2006 by Matt Lewis

The Brookings Institute's Katrina Index, which is still performing the invaluable task of tracking the Gulf Coast recovery, reports today that inadequate public services seem to be slowing down the pace of the recovery in New Orleans. Bad public services have may caused stagnation in the housing market particularly, as former residents have been reluctant to move back to neighborhoods that lack adequate sanitation, electricity, gas and water services.

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Conrad: Forgo PAYGO on Middle-Class Tax Cuts

Dec 13, 2006 by Dana Chasin

Incoming Senate Budget chair Kent Conrad (D-ND) said today that the strictures of PAYGO would not block an extension of middle-class tax breaks such as the child tax credit, which make up about two-thirds of Bush's tax policies expiring in 2011. These extensions "are gonna sail through here even if they're not paid for," he said, adding that PAYGO rules, as currently contemplated, could be waived with a supermajority vote. Conrad also noted that PAYGO would most likely be adopted as a Senate rules change or as part of the budget resolution, because Bush will not sign it into law.

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