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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NJ Report Highlights Need for Chemical Safety Requirements

A chemical catastrophe at any one of six New Jersey facilities could seriously injure or kill nearly one million people living in the area, according to a May 23 report by the New Jersey Work Environment Council (WEC). The report, Safety & Security First: Protecting Our Jobs, Families, and Hometowns from Toxic Chemical Disaster, concludes that chemical plant security must become a top priority for federal and state lawmakers.

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House Passes Right-to-Know Amendment to Save TRI

On May 18, the U.S. House of Representatives voted to prevent the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) from rolling back reporting requirements for our nation's worst polluters. By passing the Pallone-Solis Toxic Right-To-Know Amendment to the Interior Appropriations Bill, the House took an important step to preserve EPA's Toxics Release Inventory (TRI) program, by prohibiting the agency from spending any money to finalize its plans to cut toxic chemical reporting requirements.

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Take Action Now: Support Real Transparency for Contracts and Grants

An important legislative effort is gaining steam in the Senate that would shed light on government spending by making federal contracts and grants available to the public free of charge in a searchable, downloadable online format. This legislation comes out of a bipartisan effort led by Senators Tom Coburn (R-OK), Barack Obama (D-IL), Tom Carper (D-DE), and John McCain (R-AZ), who are now seeking endorsements for their bill (S. 2590). OMB Watch strongly supports this legislation and has been working closely with the cosponsors to help craft portions of the bill and ensure its enactment.

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House Passes Toxic Right-to-Know Amendment

Amid contentious debate over the Interior Appropriations Bill, the House of Representatives made an important stand for the environment and the public's right to know about toxic pollution.

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Strengthening Government Accountability

On April 6, Sens. Tom Coburn (R-OK), Barack Obama (D-IL), Tom Carper (D-DE) and John McCain (R-AZ) introduced the Federal Funding Accountability and Transparency Act (S. 2590). The bill requires the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to make information on federal contracts and grants publicly accessible through a searchable website.

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House Passes Toxic Right-to-Know Amendment

WASHINGTON, May 22--Amid contentious debate over its version of the Interior Appropriations Bill, the House of Representatives made an important stand for the environment and the public's right to know about toxic pollution.

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The House Stood Up for the Public's Right to Know

A Statement by Sean Moulton
OMB Watch commends the U.S. House of Representatives for sending a strong message by passing a measure to preserve the public's right to know about toxic pollution in communities across the country.

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Prof. Frank Teaches Econ 101

May 18, 2006 by Craig Jennings

Yesterday, we listened to President Bush mislead Americans about the role the 2003 tax cuts played in the economic growth we've seen since 2003. Mr. Bush was not the only administration member misleading Americans. The Wall Street Journal blog, Washington Wire, caught this exchange bewtween Treasury Secretary John Snow Representative Barney Frank (D-MA) during testimony to the House Financial Services Committee on the International Financial System and the Global Economy.

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House Passes Budget Resolution 218-210

May 18, 2006 by Matthew Madia

At 1:30 AM last night the House passed their version of the budget resolution after Majority Leader Boehner had repeatedly put off the vote because he didn't have enough support to pass the bill. The $2.8 trillion measure, H.Con.Res. 376, just barely passed 218-210 after moderates led by Rep. Mike Castle (R-DE) decided to support the measure.

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Tax Cuts Grow Debt, Not Economy

May 17, 2006 by Matthew Madia

Today, President Bush signed the $70 billion Deficit Growth Package (aka Tax Relief Extension Reconciliation Act of 2005) into law. And as he places more debt on the shoulders of our children and grandchildren, he continues to mislead the American people by claiming that the 2003 tax cuts are the cause of the growing economy. One of the most important decisions we made was to cut the taxes on dividends and capital gains. These cuts were designed to lower the cost of capital and to encourage businesses to expand and hire new workers. And these tax cuts are doing exactly what we expected.

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