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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Office of Special Counsel Scrubs Website

The new head of the Office of Special Counsel (OSC), Scott J. Bloch, recently scrubbed the agency’s webpage removing references to protection from sexual orientation discrimination. The OSC is an independent agency with a primary mission to safeguard federal employees by protecting their workplace rights for activities such as whistleblowing.

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Representatives Increase Efforts to put Congressional Research Reports Online

Members of the House of Representatives interested in public access are pushing for a bill to put all Congressional Research Service (CRS) reports online. This new push comes after the September expiration of a pilot program that provided hundreds of CRS reports to the public on the Internet.

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EPA Releases Final ECHO Database

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has completed the pilot phase of its Enforcement and Compliance History Online (ECHO) website. EPA finalized the site after reviewing extensive feedback received on the pilot version from the general public, public interest groups, government users, trade associations and regulated entities.

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Public Comments Sought for Online Federal Contract Pilot

In a June Federal Register notice, the General Service Administration (GSA) announced a planned pilot project to make Federal contracts publicly available online. The project would require all federal departments and agencies to post contracts on the Internet. This proposal signals a major attempt to increase the level of transparency and accountability in the contract process. Public comments are sought by GSA in order to set priorities for the project.

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Ohio Attack on E-Gov: Update

Public reaction and government employees' concern appear to have halted a proposed prohibition on Ohio government actions that could be perceived as competitive with the private sector. The provision would have prohibited that state's government agencies from providing information or services electronically to the public if the actions could be perceived as competitive with two or more commercial services providing similar services.

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Administration Issues Report on Small Business Paperwork

An administration task force, led by the Office of Management and Budget, published a draft report on May 9 that makes recommendations to reduce reporting burdens on small business. Comments on the report -- which is mandated by the Small Business Paperwork Relief Act (SBPRA), enacted a year ago -- are due by June 4. In the draft report, the task force addresses the following issues:

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ALEC-backed Attacks on E-Gov't Move in States

Legislation backed by the American Legislative Exchange Council that would stifle public access to taxpayer-funded information and services in the name of protecting commercial profits is rapidly moving through the state legislature in Ohio and is under consideration in other states.

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Administration Stacks Scientific Advisory Panels

The Bush administration has been screening nominees for federal scientific advisory committees based on their political views rather than their scientific qualifications. Inevitably, as the list below documents, this has meant tilting committees -- whose findings frequently form the basis for regulation -- in favor of corporate interests and conservative ideologues. If you know of any examples we are missing, please e-mail our Regulatory Policy staff CDC Committee on Childhood Lead Poisoning

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GAO Study on Electronic Government

On November 22, the Government Accounting Office (GAO) published a report entitled “Electronic Government: Selection and Implementation of the Office of Management and Budget's 24 Initiatives.” Expanding electronic government (e-government), using technology, particularly the Internet, to enhance the public’s access to government information and services, is a key element of the President’s Management Agenda to reform the federal government.

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Bush Signs E-Government Bill

President Bush signed legislation on December 17 that pushes the federal government to provide greater Internet access to information and services, authorizing $345 million over the next four years for an e-government fund. The bill, spearheaded by Sen. Joseph Lieberman (D-CT), marks the first comprehensive effort aimed directly at dealing with electronic information, covering a wide range of issues from information security and disaster preparedness to the digital divide and government employee training to information management and dissemination. Click here for a complete summary.

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