Sen. Lieberman (I-CT) has submitted an amendment to the Supplemental Appropriations Act of 2009 which would withhold any “photograph relating to the treatment of individuals engaged, captured, or detained after September 11, 2001, by the Armed Forces of the United States” if the Secretary of Defense certifies that the release of the photos could endanger citizens or the armed forces.   This incredibly broad statement could cover photos of all detainees captured in any future actions taken by the U.S. military.  If passed, these government records which belong to the people would no longer be available under FOIA.

The Center on Budget and Policy Priorities published an in-depth report on Tuesday examining "a little-known provision in the federal economic recovery package" that could end up costing state governments $5.5 billion in business income tax revenues. Do not panic; luckily, states can avoid this disastrous loss of revenue by making some simple changes to their tax laws. Some states have already done so. Good for you, Florida, Maryland and Minnesota.

Yesterday morning, I attended a House Appropriations subcommittee hearing to listen to Douglas H. Shulman, Commissioner of the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), provide testimony on the funds Congress will supply to his agency this upcoming fiscal year. I had hoped that subcommittee members would question Shulman over the deteriorating quality of the agency's audits over the past few years – especially those performed on corporations and wealthy individuals – and the insufficient level of services provided to those who claim the overly complicated Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC). Despite the absence of any of these inquires, there were two interesting exchanges during the hearing.