Congress Working to Make Chemical Plants Safer from Attacks

The House Homeland Security Committee this week considered legislation that would greatly reduce the risks and consequences of a terrorist attack on a chemical facility. The bill would enhance and reauthorize the flawed and inadequate existing security rules that are due to expire in October. It is crucial that Congress quickly pass and the President sign this security legislation so no more time is lost while millions of people are needlessly put at risk.

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Coburn "Report" No Help in Recovery Act Performance Conversation

Writing on the States for an Accountable Recovery blog, Phil Mattera takes a well-measured swipe at Sen. Tom Coburn's (R-OK) report detailing Recovery Act project follies.

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Senate Quietly Passes Bill to Hide Torture Evidence

On Wednesday night, the Senate quietly passed legislation to exempt photographs of detainees being tortured by U.S. personnel from the Freedom of Information Act.  Further stunning the spirit of open government, they did so by unanimous consent.

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CIA Attempts to Block Release of Torture Report

The Central Intelligence Agency is attempting to prevent the Obama administration from releasing a May 2004 Inspector General's report describing and evaluating the agency's treatment of detainees and interrogation practices, according to today's Washington Post.  A redacted version of about 12 paragraphs of text was released in May 2008 as a result of an American Civil Liberties Union lawsuit.  The Obama administration promised a review of the IG report last month after the ACLU appealed the decision in that case.

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When We Shouldn't Worry About the Deficit

As usual, Stan Collender makes much sense.

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Congress Moving in the Right Direction with Afghanistan Oversight

Congressional Quarterly (subscription required) reported this morning that the House passed by a voice vote yesterday a measure to speed the hiring of new investigators in Afghanistan.

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Obama Administration Moves to Block Visitor Logs - CREW Takes Legal Action

Like the Bush administration, the Obama administration has taken the unpopular stance that it does not have to release its visitor logs to the public.  This is an incredibly disappointing move that casts doubts on Obama’s rhetoric of increased executive branch transparency & accountability.  Hiding these logs prevents the public from better knowing who is lobbying the president.

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Wartime Contracting Commission Warns Congress of Potential Significant Waste

At What Cost?

At a House Oversight and Government Reform subcommittee hearing yesterday morning, members of the Commission on Wartime Contracting in Iraq and Afghanistan provided an interim report warning of potential contracting waste, fraud and abuse during the future drawdown of U.S. troops in Iraq and subsequent surge in Afghanistan.

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Miriam Nisbet Appointed as OGIS Director

Today, the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) announced the appointment of Miriam Nisbet as the director of the newly established Office of Government Information Services (OGIS).  This long-awaited appointment is welcome news.  OGIS is now a leap closer to coming into full operation.

Nisbet enters the position coming from UNESCO’s Information for All Program.  Nisbet served as the legislative counsel for the American Library Association from 1999-2007.  Prior to that, she was the Deputy Director of the Justice Department’s Office of Information Privacy.

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PAYGO*

President ObamaThe White House is making moves to address the growing concern over the budget deficit but the results may be lukewarm.  The details of the program have yet to be announced but in an effort to display fiscal discipline, the Administration is likely to announce a set of budget control initiatives, such as pay-as-you-go (PAYGO).  With the honeymoon effect fading, poll numbers indicate that the American public is beginning to express concern over who will eventually foot the bill for all of the recently proposed federal spending.

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