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

Building a Better Government Performance System

OMB Watch partnered with Georgetown University's Public Policy Institute and Accenture's Institute for Public Service to craft consensus recommendations for the next president related to improving government performance measurement systems. The project convened a wide range of policy experts, academics, government representatives, and others to explore areas of agreement in a very disparate field.

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House Hearing Questions Whether PAYGO is Enough to Control Spending

The House Budget Committee held a hearing on June 24 on the Statutory Pay-As-You-Go (PAYGO) Act of 2009, which was recently introduced by Rep. Steny Hoyer (D-MD). During the hearing, House members focused on the enforcement mechanisms in PAYGO, the significant exemptions granted under the proposed legislation, and whether the bill is the appropriate method to reinstate fiscal discipline in Congress.

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Chemical Security Legislation Begins to Move Through Congress

The House Homeland Security Committee passed legislation June 23 that would greatly reduce the risks and consequences of a terrorist attack on a chemical facility. The bill also includes small but important improvements in the accountability of the nation's chemical security program. However, industry-sponsored amendments and the continued risk of excessive secrecy during implementation diminish the value of the bill.

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Obama Administration Asks for Public Views on E-Rulemaking

The Obama administration is asking for feedback on its efforts to include the public in regulatory decision making. E-rulemaking allows citizens and stakeholders to comment on regulations and other government documents online, but existing challenges have limited public participation.

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Open Government Directive Experiment Wraps up July 6

On Monday, July 6, the Obama administration plans to conclude the third and final phase of its innovative online process to solicit public participation in the creation of an Open Government Directive. The process is the first of its kind for public involvement in executive branch policymaking.

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California Seeks to Add New Chemicals to Prop. 65 List

California's Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment (OEHHA) is proposing to add 30 chemicals linked to reproductive harm and cancer to the state's Proposition 65 list. Proposition 65, a statute passed by California voters in 1986, requires the state to list chemicals known to cause public health problems and bars some actions that could expose people to the substances.

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Senate May Soon Consider Bill Requiring Electronic Filing of Campaign Finance Data

Jun 24, 2009 by Amanda Adams*

POLITICO reports that Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) and Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) are negotiating when to bring up a common sense bill that has been held up for years. The Senate Campaign Disclosure Parity Act, S.482, would require campaign fundraising reports to be published on online as House candidates, presidential candidates and other political committees already do.

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Obama Seeks to Eliminate Tax Benefits for Multinational Corporations

Jun 24, 2009 by Jocelyn Yin*

The Obama Administration continues to look for ways to find tax revenue and as a result, several significant tax breaks for multinational companies may be on the chopping block. During the Bush and Clinton Administrations, it became easier for controlled foreign corporations (CFCs) to conduct financial transactions between offshore subsidiaries at much-lower effective tax rates (or in some cases, tax-free). If Obama gets his wish, these tax breaks will not be renewed at the end of 2010 and the Joint Committee on Taxation estimates will result in an increase of $31-86.5 billion in tax revenue from 2011-2019.

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Google Advises the Administration on Open Government

Jun 22, 2009 by Roger Strother*

On Friday, Google stepped into the administration’s discussion on its open government initiative by submitting comments to the Office of Science and Technology Policy. Previously, this conversation was dominated by non-profit organizations that have been working on these policies for years and other interested individuals. However, Google’s recommendations to the administration point out that the private sector that provides search services for the public have an interest in these efforts.

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Chemical Security Bill Withstanding Industry Assault

Jun 19, 2009 by Brian Turnbaugh*

Today the House Homeland Security Committee continues its deliberations on a bill that improves security and accountability at chemical facilities. The bill, which would reauthorize and greatly enhance existing security procedures for chemical plants, has so far weathered well the repeated attacks by committee Republicans to gut it.

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