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

FDA to Open Regulatory Offices in Foreign Countries

On Oct. 16, Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Michael Leavitt announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) will send personnel overseas to staff offices to help ensure the safety of imported food and drugs. The plan calls for staff to be assigned to offices in China, India, Europe, and Latin America. Many assignments will begin before the end of 2008.

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Bush Thumbs Nose at New Government Accountability Law

Oct 16, 2008 by Craig Jennings

On Tuesday, President Bush issued one of his infamous signing statements for a bill that will improve the independence of inspector general (IG) offices within the federal government. Since IG offices monitor efficiency, waste, and fraud in the government, but are also housed within the federal government, Congress saw fit to enact new measures to insulate IG offices from political pressures. (More on the bill here.)

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Welcome Letter

October 7, 2008 Dear Workshop Participant, The GPPI/Accenture/OMB Watch Government Performance Workshop is just over one week away. Thank you for joining us to lend your expertise to our effort to develop recommendations for the next administration on performance management. On October 15, you will join a diverse group of policy experts, academics, government representatives, and outside stakeholders with the goal of finding areas of consensus, identifying areas of disagreement, and defining top priorities for the next administration.

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Foreign Foods Evade FDA's Watch

The ability of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to monitor and police imported foods is once again under scrutiny. A public health crisis originally thought to be limited to China crept into the U.S. when FDA announced recalls of products tainted by melamine, a dangerous chemical.

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House Approves, Bush Signs Bailout Bill

Oct 3, 2008 by Craig Jennings

In a stark reversal of Monday's vote, the House approved the Senate-passed version of a financial market rescue bill.

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FedSpending.org Will Blow Your Mind

Oct 2, 2008 by Adam Hughes*

Great news from the technology trade pubs today - FedSpending.org has been selected by PC World Magazine as one of the top five sites out there that will raise your political awareness. Woohoo! Below is the screenshot of the article: Read the full article: 5 Sites That Will Boost Your Political Awareness

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Interesting Perspectives on the Bailout

Oct 1, 2008 by Adam Hughes*

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Senate Attempts to Sweeten Bailout Bill

Oct 1, 2008 by Craig Jennings

If Monday's Wall Street bailout bill, which the House failed to pass, was, as House Minority Leader John A.

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Next Move After House Fails to Pass Wall Street Bailout Uncertain

Sep 29, 2008 by Craig Jennings

Congressional leaders were left scratching their heads, contemplating what to do next after the House failed, by a vote of 205-228 to approve a $700 billion plan to buy up troubled financial assets that are purportedly threatening the financial markets.

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Updated Wall Street Bailout Plan Details

Sep 29, 2008 by Craig Jennings

This post is an updated version of our previous post on a summary of the $700 billion Wall Street bailout plan that the House rejected (205-228) this afternoon.