Government Performance

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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Failing to Protect Your Employees? Here’s Your Federal Contract.

Oct 6, 2010 by Matthew Madia

The Government Accountability Office found that major worker safety, health, and rights violators hide among the federal government’s most lucrative contract awardees. A new GAO report shows that the government awarded contracts to firms after they were cited for violations or fined by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) and the Wage and Hour Division (WHD), the federal agency responsible for worker rights issues like back wages and child labor.

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Would McCaskill's Contingency Contracting IG be Worth It?

Oct 5, 2010 by Gary Therkildsen*

At a Senate Armed Services hearing last week, Sen. Claire McCaskill (D-MO) urged officials from the Department of Defense (DOD) to establish a permanent inspector general office for contingency contracting. If the billions wasted through our rebuilding efforts in Iraq and Afghanistan – which, by the way, are likely to be the kinds of wars we are going to fight into the indefinite future – is any measure, it seems a permanent IG might be worth the investment.

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OSHA's Whistleblower Protection Problems Continue, GAO Says

In a new report, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) has again strongly criticized the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) for a range of problems and inconsistencies in the agency's handling of whistleblower protections.

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Congressional Oversight Panel Examines TARP Contracting

On Sept. 22, the Congressional Oversight Panel (COP), the body tasked by Congress to oversee implementation of the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP), examined the Department of the Treasury’s use of private contractors under the program. Witnesses from government, the private sector, and the nonprofit world critiqued Treasury’s use of financial services contractors and highlighted lessons about improved competition and openness that the government should take from the soon-to-be-ended program.

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MSHA Begins to Fill Gaps Exposed by Tragedy

Sep 21, 2010 by Matthew Madia

The Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) is looking to shift its regulatory strategy in response to an April explosion at the Upper Big Branch mine in West Virginia that killed 29 miners.

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Golden Opportunity for Transparency at UN Development Summit

Sep 17, 2010 by Gavin Baker

Yesterday, OMB Watch delivered a letter to President Obama calling for greater transparency in U.S. foreign aid. The letter asks the U.S. government to publicly commit to aid transparency at next week's UN Summit on the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).

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Petraeus Releases New Guidelines on Use of Contractors in Afghanistan

Sep 16, 2010 by Gary Therkildsen*

'Well how about getting with the program? Why don't you jump on the team and c'mon in for the big win?'

The New York Times reported Sunday that Gen. David Petraeus, the recently installed commander of North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) and U.S. forces in Afghanistan, has released a new set of guidelines for commanders in the field to follow when utilizing contractors. While broad, the guidelines – if vigorously implemented – may end up blunting many of the worst unintended consequences that often result from contingency contracting in a war zone.

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Posting Federal Contracts Online: The Next Step in Contracting Transparency?

The Civilian Agency Acquisition Council and the Defense Acquisition Regulations Council issued an advance notice of proposed rulemaking on May 13 that could establish standards for posting federal contracts online. Providing the public online access to electronic copies of federal contracts could create a new level of accountability in federal procurement, but some contractors have opposed the idea, claiming it would cost too much and could reveal confidential business information.

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Food Safety Bill Pushed after Salmonella Outbreak

A salmonella outbreak that has sickened more than 1,500 people and led to the recall of 550 million eggs highlights the need for Congress to pass legislation that would empower the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to better protect the food supply, advocates say.

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Reports Start Flowing on BP's Gulf Oil Disaster

New reports on BP's April 20 Deepwater Horizon oil spill disaster detail problems with oil drilling operations and regulation, including environmental reviews, agency approvals, and industry oversight.

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