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

CDC Attempts to Track Health and Pollution Connections

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recently launched a website to allow the public to track environmental and public health information. The new National Environmental Public Health Tracking Network is intended to be a dynamic Web-based tool for tracking and reporting environmental hazards and the health problems that may be related to them. The tracking network offers information on several environmental hazards and health conditions, such as asthma, cancer, and certain air and water contaminants.

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The Rise of Gov 2.0

At the close of President Obama’s first 200 days in office, the administration has demonstrated a willingness to experiment with new technologies and their potential role in making government more participatory and accountable. New e-government tools have been deployed to keep track of government spending, gather public input on policymaking, and convey the status of government projects. These tools may hold the potential to give Main Street the same voice in government traditionally reserved for K Street.

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Oil Industry Lobbying for Changes to GHG Inventory

Aug 17, 2009 by Matthew Madia

The oil industry is pushing the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to change its plans for establishing a greenhouse gas emissions inventory. In April, EPA proposed a regulation that would require facilities to report greenhouse gas emissions above a certain threshold. The data would then be made available in a publicly accessible, online database. (More on the proposed regulation here.)

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Taskforce Deadline for CUI Review Quickly Approaching

Aug 13, 2009 by Roger Strother*

August 27 is the deadline for completion of recommendations to be made by an interagency taskforce assigned by the president that address the issue of secrecy labeling in the federal government. No indication as of yet as to what those recommendations may contain. As part of our effort to educate the government and the public on the importance of this issue, we interviewed several experts about the key questions.

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Complacency Breeds Corruption in Contracting

Aug 13, 2009 by Gary Therkildsen*

Oh, boy, this one is a doozy. If you haven't seen this yet, a WaPo article from last week detailed the incestuous, often corrupt, relationships that can exist between officials and contractors within the broken culture of government contracting, and highlighted the lengths to which agencies will go to safeguard that decayed culture.

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The CBO's Semi-Regular Social Security Update

Aug 10, 2009 by Jocelyn Yin*

The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) released its latest figures on the long-term finances of Social Security.

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EPA Seeks Public Input on Clean Water Plan through Online Forum

Aug 7, 2009 by Brian Turnbaugh*

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is taking the first step in implementing Administrator Lisa Jackson's call for greater transparency and improved enforcement of EPA's clean water programs. To gather ideas for its nascent Clean Water Enforcement Action Plan, the agency is accepting comments from the public through a new online forum on EPA's blog.

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Coming Soon: TARP Lobbying Rules

Aug 7, 2009 by Amanda Adams*

According to The Hill, the Treasury Department is waiting for the administration's approval before finalizing restrictions on lobbying for Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) funding, only ten months after the program began.

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CBO Monthly Budget Review: July 2009

Aug 7, 2009 by Craig Jennings

The CBO released its Monthly Budget Review for July, 2009 this morning.

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TAKE ACTION – Tell Congress to Force Disclosure of Toxic Drilling Chemicals

Aug 5, 2009 by Brian Turnbaugh*

A controversial natural gas drilling technique is suspected of contaminating drinking water across the country, but more research cannot be done because the drilling companies won't disclose what toxic chemicals they are pumping into the ground. Congress is now considering legislation that would force drillers to disclose what chemicals they are using, but it needs our support against Big Oil and Gas.

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