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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Congress Clears Katrina Tax Package

Dec 19, 2005 by Guest Blogger

On Friday, the House and Senate approved by unanimous consent a package of tax breaks (H.R. 4440) that are meant to help individuals and businesses in the Gulf Coast region. The Senate accepted the House's decision to exclude casino's and liquor stores from the tax measure, which provides a bonus depreciation deduction for property in the Gulf, as well as a carryback of net operating losses. Thte Joint Committee on Taxation scored the cost of the bill at about $7.8 billion over five years.

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CBO Releases Another Depressing Long-Term Outlook

Dec 16, 2005 by Adam Hughes*

The Congressional Budget Office released their Long-term Budget Outlook today, in which they noted Even if taxation reached levels that were unprecedented in the United States, current spending policies could become financially unsustainable. An evergrowing burden of federal debt held by the public would have a corrosive and potentially contractionary effect on the economy.

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GOP Budget Policies Don't Honor Or Promote Work

Dec 15, 2005 by Adam Hughes*

We have been saying a lot lately that Congressional GOP budget and tax policies look out for the wealthy by providing them with tax cuts, while at the same time hurt the poor by robbing social programs of funding in the name of fiscal responsibility and deficit reduction. While this is true, there is more to the picture. As Josh Lynn and Robert Gordon have recently discussed at Think Progress and in the American Prospect, the latest GOP policies are also responsible for discouraging hard work and self-reliance - two ideals endlessly promoted in conservative rhetoric. Lynn and Gordon write

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House Passes Labor/HHS Bill; ANWR Attached To Defense Bill

Dec 15, 2005 by Guest Blogger

The House passed a $602 billion Labor/HHS Appropriations bill yesterday by a close vote of 215-213, nearly one month after twenty-two Republicans surprisingly voted with Democrats to defeat the initial bill that came out of conference. In the vote, all Democrats and only 12 Republicans voted against the bill, which provides $142.5 billion in discretionary funding (the remainder is automatic spending on entitlement programs). This discretionary amount is 0.1 percent - or $163 million - less than what was appropriated for FY 2005, and $785 million more than President Bush’s budget request.

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Failing Grade on Chemical Security

As the former 9/11 Commission issued failing grades on the government's preparedness for another terrorist attack, a new draft of chemical security legislation is being circulated by Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME). The bill establishes authority for the Department of Homeland Security to regulate the security plans of U.S. chemical plants. Unfortunately, if its current language remains, the bill will fail to make communities safer from either terrorist attacks or chemical accidents.

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Fight to Save the Toxics Release Inventory Heats Up

Since the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced plans on Sept. 21 to reduce TRI chemical release reporting, the agency has faced an ever-growing flurry of criticism and opposition. The program receives tremendous support, because for nearly 20 years it has been an essential tool in addressing environmental and public health concerns. In response to EPA's proposals to cut reporting on TRI chemical releases, in order to eliminate paperwork for reporting companies, individuals and organization have expressed outrage and begun to rally around the program.

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Patriot Act Negotiations Come to a Head

With the deadline fast approaching for renewal of USA PATRIOT Act powers, lawmakers appeared unable to reach an agreement. Senate Democrats are proposing to give Congress another 90 days to negotiate before controversial provisions expire this year, while Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist (R-TN) is calling for renewal before Congress leaves this year.

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2005's Information Bunny Hop

Over the years many have compared politics and policy formation through our democratic process to a dance between competing viewpoints. Unfortunately for public access to government information, the dance in 2005 closely resembled an old-fashioned bunny hop, involving two steps back for every one step forward. One hop forward.

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Secrecy Endangers Biodefense Effort

The ultra-secretive agency proposed to lead the nation's effort against biological attacks and national threats posed by pandemics may have to be less secretive if Congress is going to give its approval. You read it right: Congress is balking at approving too much secrecy.

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Deficit Up Sharply In November

Dec 13, 2005 by Guest Blogger

This November the Treasury recorded a n $83.1 billion deficit. The significant increase is partially due to hurricane payouts, as government spending is far exceeding tax receipts. The total deficit for the first two months of this fiscal year - which began October 1 - was $130.3 billion, or 13.1 percent higher than it was during the same period last year (when the Treasury reported a $115.2 billion deficit). Revenues for the month totaled $138.8 billion while spending was up to $221.9 billion.

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