Open, Accountable Government

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

Senators and Past Administrator Speak Out on EPA Response to 9/11

Sens. Hillary Clinton (D-NY) and Joseph Lieberman (D-CT) sent a critical letter to President Bush Aug. 26, asking why the administration conveyed incomplete information about air quality hazards in New York City immediately after 9/11. The letter comes shortly after the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Inspector General issued a report revealing the White House edited EPA public statements on air pollution to be more reassuring.

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Cost of the War

A "Cost of the War" counter constantly updates the rising costs of the war in Iraq and compares the cost to what could be accomplished in pre-school, kids' health, public education, college scholarships, energy independence and public housing. There is also a pull down chart that breaks out costs and comparisons of selected counties and cities in the US. (Java is required to run the counter correctly).

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Appropriations Update

Following are some issues of interest that have risen during the FY 2004 appropriations process.

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A Guide to Block Grant Proposals

The Coalition on Human Needs has developed a "Block Grant Chart."

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Poverty is Growing in the United States

Poverty rates are rising according to new figures by the U.S. Census Bureau.

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Economy and Jobs Watch: Employment Outlook

The nation’s job market continues to struggle. In August, even though the unemployment rate improved slightly – falling from 6.2 to 6.1 percent – payroll employment fell by 93,000 jobs.

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Economy and Jobs Watch: Deficit Outlook

The 2004 deficit is set to grow to nearly $500 billion, and the 10-year deficit is likely to be nearly $6 trillion, a new OMB Watch analysis shows.

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Half of 2004 Deficit Deterioration Due to Revenue-Reduction

Sep 4, 2003 by Guest Blogger

OMB Watch - Half of 2004 Deficit Deterioration Due to Revenue-Reduction Legislation

Half of 2004 Deficit Deterioration Due to Revenue-Reduction Legislation

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Half of 2004 Deficit Deterioration Due to Revenue-Reduction Legislation

The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) is currently estimating a baseline $401 billion deficit for 2003 and a $480 billion deficit for 2004. In March, just six months ago, the CBO’s baseline indicated a much smaller $246 billion deficit for 2003 and a $200 billion deficit for 2004.

For 2004, this represents a $279 billion deterioration in the budget outlook (see Table 1). A detailed breakdown of the CBO data shows that 48% of the budget deterioration that occurred between March and August was due to legislative changes affecting revenue (see Table 2). At just over 16 percent of gross domestic product, revenue is now at its lowest level in 40 years. Download full report (.pdf)

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Agencies Cite Privacy More Often When Denying FOIA Requests

Agencies are twice as likely to claim personal privacy in 2002 than in 1998 to justify denials of Freedom of Information (FOIA) requests. In 1998, just under 40 percent of FOIA denials were for personal privacy; in 2002, roughly 80 percent of denials were for privacy. Surprisingly, agencies use national security to explain refusals less often than they did several years ago. That’s the conclusion of an analysis by the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press that compared agencies’ annual reports on compliance with the federal open records law for 1998 and 2002.

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