Freedom of Information

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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Chemical Plants Fail to Cut Hazards as Concerns of Terrorism Grow

For years, the Blue Plains Wastewater Treatment Plant, just outside of Washington, D.C., stored deadly chlorine gas in 90-ton rail cars. A rupture of just one of these rail cars would have put 1.7 million people at risk, covering the White House, Congress, as well as Bolling Air Force Base.

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Community Technology Centers: Collaborations That Work

There are well over 2,000 Community Technology Centers (CTCs) and related community technology projects that provide a range of technology services to low-income, minority, and hard-to-serve populations across America. Often a community technology effort does not carry the label of a CTC, even though they provide CTC-type services in urban and rural communities. Libraries, schools, and nonprofit organizations that play a key role in our communities coordinate many community technology efforts. Often the building which houses a community technology center serves as the focal point of community activity, a center for learning and workforce preparedness, a showcase of community collaborations among businesses, government and nonprofit and civic organizations. The number of new programs has been increasing exponentially as communities recognize that access to technology is a key to economic empowerment, workforce competitiveness, and community building.

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Anti-Terrorism Bill Could Impact Nonprofits

The "USA PATRIOT Act" (PL 107-56) could pose big problems for nonprofits, especially those that advocate changes in US foreign policy or provide social services to individuals that become targets of government investigations.

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Critical Infrastructure Information

OMB Watch is building a new website to serve as a central point of access to information on Critical Infrastructure Information.

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Frequently Asked Questions About the Federal Community Technology Centers Program

Community Technology Centers (CTCs) are increasingly emerging around the country to provide low-income, minority, and other disenfranchised individuals free or low-cost public access to technology tools and services, including trainings that may enhance employment opportunities. Federally funded research has demonstrated CTCs to be an effective community-based model, and Congress appropriated $32.5 million in FY 2000 to support CTCs. The Clinton Administration has proposed increasing the budget for CTCs in FY 2001 to $100 million.

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8/17/00 Letter to the Editor, Wall Street Journal

[NOTE: The following letter was submitted to, but not published by, the Wall Street Journal] August 16, 2000 Letters to the Editor The Wall Street Journal 200 Liberty Street New York, NY 10281 To the Editor, ------------------------------------------ Daniel Askt's 8/9/00 letter, “My Old Computer Can Bridge the Digital Divide” completely misses the mark by trivializing the “digital divide” as a simple matter of whether one has access to a computer. It is about education, not only on how to use a computer, but also on basic literacy.

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CTCs Receive Funding Increase in Final FY 2001 Budget Agreement

In the FY 2001 budget deal reached on Friday 12/15/00, the Community Technology Centers program under the U.S. Department of Education's Office of Vocational and Adult Education (http://www.ed.gov/offices/OVAE/CTC) received $65 million which will help create 650 CTCs in low-income rural and urban neighborhoods.

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Federal Funding for Community Technology in Jeopardy

The major Federal grant program for community technology centers may, within the next several working days, be deleted from the FY 2002 budget. That, combined with the threated reduction in the Commerce Department's TOP program, would signal a dramatic decline in government support for innovative uses of technology to connect communities and opportunities for residents of low-income communities to learn and utilize computer-related skills. Until a week or so ago, it looked like the

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CTCs Cited in the Presidential Race

Gov. Bush states both on his website and in a campaign Fact Sheet: (PDF file) that he, "will invest $400 million to create and maintain more than 2,000 community technology centers every year. These centers are providing such services as free Internet access, computer literacy training, and professional skills development." Vice President Gore's , released yesterday, includes a goal of creating 2,000 Community Technology Centers in low-income neighborhoods by 2002, stating that CTCs provide hands-on training for children and adults lacking IT skills, "the people who need it most."

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CTC Appropriations in Holding Pattern

Appropriations for CTCs-- currently tagged at $80 million under VA-HUD-- have not progressed since late summer. As of this writing, the Senate has only passed 7 out of its 13 spending bills, three just made it out of committee but have yet to be voted upon, and two have not made it out of committee. More significantly, only one-- Interior appropriations-- has actually been reported out of its House-Senate conference committee. No other appropriations bill has made it to House-Senate conference yet.

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Pages

more resources

Top 400 Taxpayers See Tax Rates Rise, But There’s More to the Story

Chlorine Bleach Plants Needlessly Endanger 63 Million Americans

U.S. Industrial Facilities Reported Fewer Toxic Releases in 2014

Methane Causes Climate Change. Here's How the President Plans to Cut Emissions by 40-45 Percent.

Chemical Plants Fail to Cut Hazards as Concerns of Terrorism Grow

Community Technology Centers: Collaborations That Work

Anti-Terrorism Bill Could Impact Nonprofits

Critical Infrastructure Information

Frequently Asked Questions About the Federal Community Technology Centers Program

8/17/00 Letter to the Editor, Wall Street Journal

CTCs Receive Funding Increase in Final FY 2001 Budget Agreement

Federal Funding for Community Technology in Jeopardy

CTCs Cited in the Presidential Race

CTC Appropriations in Holding Pattern

Pages

Living in the Shadow of Danger: Poverty, Race, and Unequal Chemical Facility Hazards

A Tale of Two Retirements: One for CEOs and One for the Rest of Us

Blowing Smoke: Chemical Companies Say “Trust Us,” But Environmental and Workplace Safety Violations Belie Their Rhetoric

Gasping for Support: Implementation of Tougher Air Quality Standards Will Require New Funds for State Agencies

Citizen Health & Safety Topics

Recent Reports

Living in the Shadow of Danger: State Scorecards

Living in the Shadow of Danger: Poverty, Race, and Unequal Chemical Facility Hazards

A Tale of Two Retirements: One for CEOs and One for the Rest of Us