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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more news

Half-Baked and PART-Broiled

Mar 22, 2006 by Matthew Madia

We already know that there's a significant mismatch between PART scores, actual program performance, and budget/management policy decisions. We usually hear of a good program that gets a bad PART score, based on criteria that don't really apply to the program, and then is slated for budget cuts. Don't forget, though, that the White House is notorious for claiming that its budget cuts are based on programs' ineffectiveness -- even when most of the programs slated for cuts haven't actually been assessed by even this worthless tool.

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PART Strikes Again

Mar 22, 2006 by Matthew Madia

Independent oil and gas producers are joining the chorus of voices criticizing the White House's political performance measurement tool, PART. From the industry source, here's a look at what's at stake: Independent producers are back fighting what has become an annual spring battle to preserve federal support for domestic oil and gas research and development. But the stakes are much greater than a few tax breaks, an Independent Petroleum Association of America official said.

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Filing Your Tax Return Could Cost You More Than Money

Mar 22, 2006 by Matthew Madia

There have been scattered reports the last few days of hushed IRS decision to allow tax preparation companies or individual accountants sell part or all of your personal information from your tax returns to third party entities or marketers. (Your Tax Files For Sale? IRS Says Go For It.) The revelation of this decision has sent consumer advocate and public interest groups running - and rightly so. A joint statement filed by the U.S. Public Interest Research Group (PIRG), the Consumer Federation of America (CFA), and the National Consumer Law Center (NCLC) to the IRS, they remarked:

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PART: Meet Winchester, Virginia

Mar 13, 2006 by Matthew Madia

PART is still pretty unfamiliar to most followers of federal policy at the national level, so it is interesting to note this story in the Winchester Star newspaper: When kids and families struggle with substance abuse or other issues, it is a total community issue. The Safe and Drug Free Schools Program helps school systems provide support for troubled students and families through services such as violence and drug prevention. But the federal program, which provides for state grants and national programs, has been targeted for elimination in President Bush’s 2007 budget.

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New PART Scores Showcase More Contradictions of Program

The president's recent budget, released in early February, contained another round of federal program assessments produced by the Office of Management and Budget using the administration's Program Assessment Rating Tool (PART). As in past years, this new round of PART scores and associated budget requests call into question the value and purpose of PART ratings, which appear to have little logical and no discernable link to budget requests.

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Monthly Budget Review Released

Mar 7, 2006 by Matthew Madia

The Congressional Budget Office released the Monthly Budget Review yesterday, reporting that the government incurred a $219 billion deficit in the first five months of FY 2006. The CBO is estimating a total deficit for FY2006 to be $371 billion. The deficit in February was $121 billion, which is $7 billion more than the deficit recorded in February 2005.

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CBO's Analysis of the President's Budget

Mar 6, 2006 by Matthew Madia

The Congressional Budget Office has completed a preliminary analysis of the President's FY07 Budget.

Analysis
Supplemental Data

The report found that the President's proposal will:

Spend about $925 billion on discretionary programs in FY07;
Add $35 billion to the CBO's current deficit projections, putting the deficit projection at $371 billion;
Reduce revenues by nearly $9 billion for FY07;
Reduce revenues by $282 billion from 2007-2011 if some of the President's expiring 2001 and 2003 tax provisions are extended;

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Cop off the Beat

Mar 2, 2006 by Guest Blogger

The latest NYTimes article on MSHA should come as no surprise to anyone who has followed this administration's enforcement record; the Bush administration has reduced penalties for mine safety violations in order to better relations with industry. From the article: In its drive to foster a more cooperative relationship with mining companies, the Bush administration has decreased major fines for safety violations since 2001, and in nearly half the cases, it has not collected the fines, according to a data analysis by The New York Times.

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Rules Committee Markup of Lobby Reform Bill

Feb 28, 2006 by Matthew Madia

This morning the Senate Rules Committee marked up the Lobby Reform Bill, aiming to make the legislative process more transparent. This afternoon there is a hearing on the same subject. A number of amendments were offered during the markup from Senators including Dodd (D-CT), Santorum (R-PA), Feinstein (D-CA), Durbin (D-IL), Inouye (D-HI), and Nelson (D-NE).

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What Others Are Saying About PART

OMB Watch is not alone in criticizing the White House's Program Assessment Rating Tool. See what others have had to say recently about this flawed measure. PART Punishes Programs for Following the Law Clay Johnson, OMB deputy director, when asked in a congressional hearing, "[I]s it possible for a program to get a poor rating simply because it does what's required by statute and not necessarily what OMB might like for that program to do?": Yes.

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