How Government Works

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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U.S. Scores Poorly on Transparency of Foreign Aid Spending

Oct 7, 2010 by Gavin Baker

A new comparative study of development aid finds the U.S. among the least transparent of the world's donors.

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On Transparent Stewardship of Natural Resources, U.S. is #11

Oct 6, 2010 by Gavin Baker

A new study of natural resource transparency in 41 countries finds the U.S. among the top countries but not leading the pack. Brazil and Norway scored the highest marks, while countries such as Russia, Colombia, and Kazakhstan also ranked higher than the U.S.

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Congress Tries to Make Bureaucrats Communicate More Clearly

Sep 28, 2010 by Gavin Baker

Today, the Senate passed H.R. 946, the Plain Writing Act of 2010. The bill requires agencies to use plain writing when communicating with the public. The House passed the bill in March.

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At UN, Obama Calls for Global Transparency but Offers Few Details

On Sept. 23, President Barack Obama addressed the United Nations (UN), calling on countries to strengthen government openness. He emphasized the importance of transparency in fighting corruption and increasing civic engagement. At a world summit the day before, Obama trumpeted his administration's new global development policy, which pledges more transparency related to U.S. aid activities. However, the administration refused to release the text of the policy, and details remain sparse.

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Congress “Fixes” SEC Secrecy

Sep 24, 2010 by Sean Moulton

Following last week’s hearing in the House Financial Services Committee and action by the Senate Judiciary Committee on the broad and unnecessary Freedom of Information Act exemption for the Securities and Exchange Commission, Congress moved quickly to approve legislation that will fix the controversial provisions.

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Congress Looks to Reign in SECrecy

Sep 17, 2010 by Sean Moulton

Yesterday, both the Senate and House addressed Section 929I of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, which granted the Security Exchange Commission (SEC) a very broad exemption to the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA). The Senate Judiciary Committee approved legislation that would limit the exemption. Almost simultaneously, the House Financial Services Committee held a hearing to explore the issue of the need for such a broad exemption.

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Golden Opportunity for Transparency at UN Development Summit

Sep 17, 2010 by Gavin Baker

Yesterday, OMB Watch delivered a letter to President Obama calling for greater transparency in U.S. foreign aid. The letter asks the U.S. government to publicly commit to aid transparency at next week's UN Summit on the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).

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Posting Federal Contracts Online: The Next Step in Contracting Transparency?

The Civilian Agency Acquisition Council and the Defense Acquisition Regulations Council issued an advance notice of proposed rulemaking on May 13 that could establish standards for posting federal contracts online. Providing the public online access to electronic copies of federal contracts could create a new level of accountability in federal procurement, but some contractors have opposed the idea, claiming it would cost too much and could reveal confidential business information.

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USAspending.gov to Increase Transparency through Subrecipient Reporting

Since it was unveiled in 2007, USAspending.gov has been a crucial portal through which the federal government makes spending data available to the public. With new guidance on subaward reporting released in August, the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) has taken additional steps to ensure USAspending.gov will comply with the law that created the site and will make it possible to track more of the federal spending chain.