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

GAO Report Finds Private Medicare Providers Prefer Profits Over Providing Better Service

Jun 26, 2008 by Craig Jennings

A recently released GAO report finds that (surprise!) Medicare Advantage providers predicted lower profit margins in 2005 than actually materialized.

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Everybody Needs to Pay Their Taxes...Everybody!

Jun 24, 2008 by Adam Hughes*

Our friends over at the Government Accountability Office released another great report a week or two ago concerning how Medicare providers (hospitals, nursing homes, and doctors) are failing to pay federal taxes to the tune of at least $2 billion a year. Findings from the report:

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Improving Information Sharing at DHS

On June 11, the House Homeland Security Subcommittee on Intelligence, Information Sharing and Terrorism Risk Assessment held a hearing on a bill (H.R. 6193) introduced by Rep. Jane Harman (D-CA), chair of the subcommittee, to improve information sharing at the Department of Homeland Security (DHS).

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House Considers New Legislation at Chemical Security Hearing

On June 12, the House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Environment and Hazardous Materials held a hearing on the current status of the chemical security program at the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and considered two bills to amend the program.

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House Caves on Telecom Immunity in FISA Bill

After months of negotiations and stalled efforts, the House leadership reached common ground with the White House in passing a bill that reforms the legality of foreign surveillance and grants telecommunications companies retroactive immunity for assisting in warrantless wiretapping. On June 20, the House passed the FISA Amendments Act of 2008 (H.R. 6304) by a vote of 293 to 129. Despite opposition from key senators and the public interest community, at this point it appears likely to pass the Senate as well.

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Congress, FDA Explore BPA Dangers

Congress and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) have begun to further explore the dangers posed by bisphenol A (BPA) and whether to regulate its use, especially in food and beverage containers. BPA is an industrial chemical used to make hard plastic containers, such as baby bottles, and is part of the lining of food cans, where it is used to prevent metal from leaching into foods. Congress recently held a hearing and is considering legislation to limit the use of BPA. The FDA is assessing the toxicity of the chemical to help determine the risk to consumers.

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Social Security Can Wait. Really.

Jun 23, 2008 by Craig Jennings

A "Brookings Alert" in my inbox this morning directs me to an op-ed by Brookings Senior Fellow Alice M. Rivlin and U. Mich Prof. John W. Kingdon entitled "Next President and Congress: Tackle Social Security First." Oy. I'm going to outsource this one to Shawn Fremstad over at Inclusion.

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House Passes UI Extension by a Two-Thirds Margin

Jun 12, 2008 by Dana Chasin

What a Difference a Day Makes Yesterday's suspension vote in the House to extend unemployment insurance benefits by at least 13 weeks fell short of the required a two-thirds supermajority by a mere three votes -- perhaps attributable to the eleven members who did not vote. This afternoon, the House voted again on the proposal as a stand-alone bill and, guess what? It passed precisely by a two-thirds, i.e., veto-proof, margin. As Speaker Pelosi mentioned in a statement following today's vote, the bill does not only help the nation's unemployed workers, but the rest of us:

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The Solution to Growing Unemployment: Free Trade Deals?

Jun 11, 2008 by Dana Chasin

Today, the Bush Administration issued a veto threat against H.R. 5794, the Emergency Extended Unemployment Compensation Act of 2008. Please read the following and see if you can spot the non sequitur:

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