Congress

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

Reporting the Non-Reporters

Dec 16, 2009 by Craig Jennings

A Nov. 30 OMB memo to agencies, "Improving Compliance in Recovery Act Recipient Reporting," instructed the federal agencies to "compile a verified and detailed list of recipients who were required to report in the October period but failed to do so." The lists was to be submitted to OMB by Dec. 4.

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Open Government Directive Highlights Federal Spending Transparency

Dec 8, 2009 by Craig Jennings

Sean noted earlier today that the Obama Administration released the Open Government Directive this morning. It will have far-reaching implications for government transparency generally, but the directive focuses on federal spending transparency, specifically mentioning Recovery Act transparency as a critical venue for federal government openess.

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White House Throws Open the Doors of Government

Dec 8, 2009 by Sean Moulton

As you probably know, the Obama administration

released the Open Government Directive this morning. OMB Watch applauds this latest effort

to create a more open and accountable government.

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Open Government Directive Hits the Streets

The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) released the long-anticipated Open Government Directive on Dec. 8. The directive, a memo from OMB Director Peter Orszag to all agency and department heads, requires that all agencies develop and implement an Open Government Plan specific to each agency.

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House Moves to Give More Access for GAO, SIGTARP, and the Public

While the attention of many transparency advocates has been focused on the first round of recipient reporting under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (the Recovery Act), the House has been working on two financial transparency measures dealing with the Federal Reserve and use of the Wall Street bailout funds.

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OMB Watch Unveils Recovery Act Recipient Reports Database

On Dec. 3, OMB Watch released a beta version of a new database on FedSpending.org that gives the public improved access to and searchability of Recovery Act recipient report data. The database allows users to search more than 160,000 reports from recipients of almost $159 billion in Recovery Act contracts, grants, and loans awarded between Feb. 17 and Sept. 30.

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OMB Watch Welcomes New Standard of Openness Heralded by Obama Administration's Open Government Directive

WASHINGTON, Dec. 8, 2009—OMB Watch applauds the Obama administration's latest effort to create a more open and accountable government: the release of the Open Government Directive. The directive has been in development since the first day of the Obama administration, when the president issued a memo tasking OMB and other key officials to develop the directive.

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Secret Holds Continue in the Senate

Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW), a Washington, DC-based watchdog group, recently called upon the Senate Committee on Ethics to investigate the ongoing use of secret holds. The organization contends that senators have failed to abide by Section 512 of the Honest Leadership and Open Government Act of 2007 (HLOGA), which ended the use of secret holds. The group requested the committee discipline senators from both parties who have failed to abide by the procedures, as well as issue guidance to govern future conduct.

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Open Government Directive to be Released During Live Webcast - 11am, 12/8

Dec 7, 2009 by Roger Strother*

The open government directive is scheduled to be released at 11am on Dec. 8. The announcement will be made in a live webcast hosted by US CIO Vivek Kundra and US CTO Aneesh Chopra. There will be a live forum following the announcement so that citizens may give feedback and ask questions. Please watch the live announcement here or on the White House website and check back with the OMB Watch blog for more analysis. Dowload the directive here [PDF].

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OMB Watch Launches Recovery Act Data Tab on FedSpending.org

WASHINGTON, Dec. 3, 2009—Today, OMB Watch released a beta version of a new database on FedSpending.org that gives the public improved access to and searchability of Recovery Act recipient report data. The database allows users to search more than 160,000 reports from recipients of almost $159 billion in Recovery Act contracts, grants, and loans awarded between Feb. 17 and Sept. 30.

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