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

Earmarks: Getting a Read on the House Rules

Mar 6, 2007 by Dana Chasin

According to an article in Roll Call today ($), a new earmark request-and-approval regime in the House is giving rise to a culture of confusion for members and lobbyists alike. The regime is proving to be a far more complex and perilous one than in the past, owing to:

ambiguities in the House rules package on earmarks in several areas, including "multi-Member" funding letters supporting for broad or regional requests (which may now count against the earmark limits of each signatory)

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GSA Chief To Testify on More Misdeeds

Mar 6, 2007 by Matt Lewis

GSA Administrator Lurita Doan is in hot water again. Rep. Henry Waxman, Chairman of the House Government Reform and Oversight Committee, has just obtained documents that demonstrate that Doan had a long-standing relationship with a prospecitve recipient of a no-bid contract (the contract was never issued). A Jan. 19 Washington Post story first broke the news that Doan tried to intervene in the contracting-out process on behalf of this friend of hers.

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Senate Approved of Walter Reed Privatization

Mar 6, 2007 by Matt Lewis

GovExec has a good story today on how privatization may have made the situation at Walter Reed even worse. A prolonged public-private competition demoralized staff, nearly 100 of whom quit. On Monday, Weightman said attrition reduced the number of employees affected by the competition from a high of 190 down to about 100 people. He said that despite being given authority to staff up to bridge the gap, he was unable to find more than 10 additional people to take positions not slated to last beyond four months.

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IRS Privitization Program on its "Deathbed"

Mar 6, 2007 by Adam Hughes*

At a hearing of the House Appropriations Financial Services and General Government Subcommittee yesterday, Chairman Jose Serrano (D-NY) made some harsh statements about the IRS privitization program that has outsourced some tax collection duties. Serrano said that the program is on its "deathbed" and that the program does not have a lot of supporters in Congress right now. This is certainly welcome news from the appropriations subcommittee chair who has jurisdiction over the IRS. Yet another key voice has chimmed in on this program and the verdict is not good.

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Latest Developments on Bush Changes to the Regulatory Process

Mar 1, 2007 by Matthew Madia

OMB Watch has created a new web center to be the one-stop source for news and developments on President Bush's recent amendments to Executive Order 12866. The web center will be frequently updated with fresh insights, news from Capitol Hill, and links to media coverage.

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Media Coverage of FedSpending.org v2.0

Feb 23, 2007 by Adam Hughes*

The updated version of FedSpending.org has garnered a few media hits in papers and blogs around the country. Below is a bit of the coverage:

GovExec.com story
San Fransico Examiner editorial
Mark Tapscott's Blog
Sunlight Foundation Blog

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Soft Landing for Losers-Turned-Lobbyists

Feb 22, 2007 by Dana Chasin

Congress Considers Lobby Reform Legislation Although federal law prohibits former members of Congress from lobbying former colleagues for a year from when they leave office, that hasn't stopped a number of members who lost their elections last November from joining lobbying firms, today's lead USA Today story reports. Nothing in the law prohibits former Congress members from advising lobbyists and clients, lobbying executive branch officials or directing a firm's congressional lobbying efforts.

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FedSpending v2.0 Goes Live!

Feb 22, 2007 by Adam Hughes*

OMB Watch is pleased to annouce we have just released a new version of FedSpending.org with updated data, new features, and improved navigation. The new site is now live - see it yourself at www.fedspending.org. OMB Watch issued a press release that describes the updates and improvments made to the site, and you can learn and see more about FedSpending v2.0 in the About This Site section, or by exploring the site yourself. We welcome your feedback, comments, and questions about the new website, so please go to the Contact section of FedSpending.org and send us your thoughts.

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Latest Watcher

Feb 22, 2007 by Matthew Madia

Be sure to check out the latest issue of our biweekly newsletter, The Watcher. Reg policy articles this time: Congress Holds Hearings on Bush's Changes to Regulatory Process FDA Drug Approval Process under Scrutiny

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OMB Watch Set to Launch FedSpending v2.0

Feb 22, 2007 by Adam Hughes*

OMB Watch will be releasing an updated version of our popular website FedSpending.org later today. FedSpending.org allows users to search and download extensive information about government spending going back to FY 2000, from contracts to grants, loans, insurance payments, and direct spending. Below are some preview screenshots of the new look and features of the website. The new site will go live later this afternoon. Be sure to check it out and explore the new features. New FedSpending.org Homepage with Features(click to englarge) Added Summary Outputs with Trend Chart(click to englarge)

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