Open, Accountable Government

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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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The Game of Ping-Pong, or "The Economic Stimulus Package Debate"

Less than two weeks ago, many observers -- including OMB Watch -- were predicting that an end, at least for the foreseeable future, had come for the debate on an economic stimulus package.

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Estate Tax Repeal Sense of Senate Amendment Tacked onto Farm Bill

Estate Tax Repeal's Impact on States

A recent report from the New Jersey Policy Perspective (NJPP) illustrates the havoc the 2001 tax cut's repeal of the estate tax is wreaking on the already strained New Jersey budget. The report offers a state-level solution to the problem created by the federal estate tax repeal process, which actually ends the states' ability to "pickup" a portion of the federal tax for themselves earlier than the federal government's estate tax ends. The NJPP website also provides links to the 3 newspapers that have thus far endorsed its proposal, as well as an op-ed piece that ran in the New York Times New Jersey edition.

An update on the efforts of Sen. Jon Kyl (R-AZ) to repeal the estate tax.

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The Bush Budget and Budget Process

President Bush's budget proposes a number of budget process changes that he believes will allow budgeting to be accomplished in a more fiscally responsible manner.

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Right-to-Know Update

The issue over public access has taken a new urgency after the September 11th terrorist attacks with some -- often including those who opposed public access before September 11 th -- arguing that we should not be providing information that could be used by terrorists to do damage.

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Wise Investments for a Strong Economy: OMB Watch Response to Summer 2001 Surplus Estimates

There is nothing wrong with having a deficit. As OMB Watch has pointed out for years, the real concern is to make sure that the deficit is kept as a small percentage of the GDP. As long as the economy grows, a small deficit is not a problem. And wise investments will lead to a strong economy.

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Testimony on Implementation of the E-FOIA Amendments of 1996

Statement of Patrice McDermott, Ph.D., Information Policy Analyst, OMB Watch, before the Subcommittee on Government Management, Information and Technology of the House Committee on Government Reform on The Implementation of the Electronic Freedom of Information Amendments of 1996. Spoken Statement of Patrice McDermott, Ph.D. Information Policy Analyst OMB Watch Before the Subcommittee on Government Management, Information and Technology of the House Committee on Government Reform On The Implementation of the Electronic Freedom of Information Amendments of 1996 June 14, 2000

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Democracy's Strength -- An Informed Public

Recently, the push has been to exempt Critical Infrastructure information from the FOIA. No one disagrees that there is some information that the public should not have, at least for a specified period of time — although there may be disagreements on the nature of that information and on the length of time. (Keynote address by Patrice McDermott, Senior Policy Analyst, OMB Watch, to US Department of Energy, Freedom of Information Act and Privacy Act Conference.) Democracy's Strength—An Informed Public Keynote Address by Patrice McDermott to U.S. Department of Energy

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Sign-On Letter Opposing Leak Statute

OMB Watch and others sign on to letter to White House urging the President to veto the Intelligence Authorization Act because it, for the first time in American history, creates an "official secrets" act. October 30, 2000 John Podesta Chief of Staff The White House Washington, D.C. 20500 Dear Mr. Podesta: We are writing to encourage the President to take the strongest possible action to prevent -- or at the very minimum delay - the implementation of Section 303 of H.R. 4392 "Prohibition on Unauthorized Disclosure of Classified Information." As you know,

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    Poverty and Welfare Information

    Analyses and statements by other organizations on welfare reform in general, the history of welfare reform, the 1996 welfare reform law, welfare reform in the states, as well as specific aspects including children, child care, food stamps, and job training

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    Budget News -- Jan. 1, 2000 -- Dec. 31, 2000

    The following are federal budget policy analyses and updates from OMB Watch issued during 2000.

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    Pages

    Resources & Research

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

    People of color and people living in poverty, especially poor children of color, are significantly more likely...

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

    The 100 largest CEO retirement funds are worth a combined $4.9 billion, equal to the entire retirement account savings of 41 percent of American fam...

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

    Large chemical companies a...

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

    New scientific research shows that the current levels of...

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    more resources
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