Privatization

Feb 8, 2016

Top 400 Taxpayers See Tax Rates Rise, But There’s More to the Story

As Americans were gathering party supplies to greet the New Year, the Internal Revenue Service released their annual report of cumulative tax data reported on the 400 tax r...

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Feb 4, 2016

Chlorine Bleach Plants Needlessly Endanger 63 Million Americans

Chlorine bleach plants across the U.S. put millions of Americans in danger of a chlorine gas release, a substance so toxic it has been used as a chemical weapon. Greenpeace’s new repo...

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Jan 25, 2016

U.S. Industrial Facilities Reported Fewer Toxic Releases in 2014

The Toxics Release Inventory (TRI) data for 2014 is now available. The good news: total toxic releases by reporting facilities decreased by nearly six percent from 2013 levels. Howe...

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Jan 22, 2016

Methane Causes Climate Change. Here's How the President Plans to Cut Emissions by 40-45 Percent.

UPDATE (Jan. 22, 2016): Today, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) released its proposed rule to reduce methane emissions...

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more news

OMB Releases Contracting Guidance

Oct 27, 2009 by Adam Hughes*

The Office of Management and Budget has just released two long-awaited contracting reform memos as part of President Obama's larger efforts to overhaul federal contracting. The memos outline ways to increase competition while reducing risks for the government and about strategic planning for the acquisition workforce.

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First Round of Recovery Act Data Expected Oct. 15

On Oct. 15, the Recovery Accountability and Transparency Board (Recovery Board) will begin releasing on Recovery.gov the first round of Recovery Act recipient reporting to the public.

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Asleep on the Job: Where are the Consequences for Contractor Misconduct?

Oct 7, 2009 by Gary Therkildsen*

In what may be the next big defense contracting scandal, an Associated Press story released this morning relates some troubling findings from a recent investigation. AP reporters uncovered serious flaws with the U.S. Army's $2.7 billion contract with Combat Support Associates (CSA), a contractor tasked with supporting U.S. troops at bases throughout Kuwait. After months of bad press and congressional hearings into the defense contracting industry, you would think this investigation might provide just that little extra momentum for Congress or the federal government to clean up this mess, but don't count on it.

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Obama Names Gordon to Run OFPP

Oct 5, 2009 by Adam Hughes*

On Friday, President Obama named Daniel Gordon, currently the deputy general counsel of the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO), as his nominee to run the Office of Federal Procurement Policy (OFPP). Gordon has been at GAO for 17 years and has also worked as the managing associate general counsel for the GAO's Procurement Law Division and the associate general counsel and senior attorney for the Procurement Law Division. At first glance, Gordon seems like a real solid pick for this position who will certainly have a lot on his plate if he is confirmed by the Senate.

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OMB Watch Submits Comments on Contracting Reform

Jul 21, 2009 by Adam Hughes*

On March 4, President Obama released a Memorandum on Government Contracting, which instructed the OMB and other federal agencies to improve and strengthen federal contracting practices, including seeking input from the public. In response to this effort, OMB Watch submitted comments and recommendations on necessary reforms to the federal contracting system.

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Zients Officially Confirmed as first Chief Performance Officer

Jun 23, 2009 by Jocelyn Yin*

After clearing the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, Jeffrey D. Zients was approved by the full Senate as the government's first-ever Chief Performance Officer. In addition to his CPO duties, Zients will also serve as Deputy Director of Management at the Office of Management and Budget (OMB).

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Zients Easily Clears Senate Committee Vote

Jun 16, 2009 by Jocelyn Yin*

Earlier today, Jeffrey D. Zients came one step closer to becoming the government's first-ever Chief Performance Officer when the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee approved his nomination.

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Senate Likely to Confirm First-Ever Chief Performance Officer

On June 16, the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee (HSGAC) voted to approve the nomination of Jeffrey Zients to serve as the nation's first Chief Performance Officer (CPO), moving the issue to the full Senate.

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Confirmation Hearing of Chief Performance Officer Nominee Jeffrey Zients

Jun 11, 2009 by Adam Hughes*

The Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs committee held a confirmation hearing yesterday to consider the nomination of Jeffrey Zients, President Obama's pick to be Deputy Director of the Office of Management and Budget and sit in the newly created position of Chief Performance Officer. The hearing was uneventful and short, lasting less than an hour, and Zients received mostly praise and kinds words from Senators.

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"Inherently Governmental" = Pornography?

Jun 2, 2009 by Adam Hughes*

Elizabeth Newell over at FedBlog had an interesting post up yesterday about some reviews being conducted at the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). In particular, DHS is reviewing service contracts to make sure no inherently governmental work is being done by contractors. Yet the poor definition of that term may inhibit any actual reforms from taking place.

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