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

Documents Destroyed in Terrorism Case

The accidental destruction of documents justifying the federal government’s eight-year investigation into a former University of South Florida professor raises questions about whether the government will be allowed to proceed in a case hailed as a key part of the war against terrorism.

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The Bush Tax

While much has been made of 2001 and 2003 tax legislation, much less attention has been paid to the hidden “Bush Tax.”

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Economy and Jobs Watch: Employment and Output Data

Get to know your data: The employment survey and GDP revisions.

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States File FOIA Request for Clean Air Act Information

Several states and the District of Columbia filed Freedom of Information Act requests Dec. 4 with the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Department of Energy, and the White House Council on Environmental Quality in order to obtain information about proposed changes to the Clean Air Act. The requests are part of a larger lawsuit aiming to overturn the recent rollback of New Source Review standards that would significantly increase pollution from power plants and other facilities.

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OMB Watch Submits Comments on Peer Review Today

OMB Watch filed comments with Office of Management and Budget (OMB) today on its draft bulletin for peer review. Public interests groups, academics, and regulators were all concerned with the bulletin because it could severely hamper agencies by creating burdensome peer review requirements that are too vulnerable to industry manipulation. Most federal agencies currently have peer review guidelines that function well. While the deadline for public comments ends today, federal agencies may continue to submit comments on the draft bulletin until Jan. 15.

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Meet and Comment on EPA's Draft Report on the Environment

Resources for the Future (RFF) will be holding a seminar this Wednesday, Dec. 17 from 12:30 pm - 1:30 pm on future steps for the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Draft Report on the Environment.

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Missouri and Kansas Proposing New Sunshine Law Exemptions

Officials in both Missouri and Kansas are pushing for exemptions under state sunshine laws that would restrict public access to information. Both measures would counter recent efforts in the states to improve access laws.

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Another Weak Jobs Report

Dec 5, 2003 by Guest Blogger

Last month, only 57,000 jobs were created - well below what is needed to employ new entrants into the labor market.

For more see:

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Senate Judiciary Committee Holds Hearing on PATRIOT Act

On Nov. 18 the Senate Judiciary Committee held a hearing, "America after 9/11: Freedom Preserved or Freedom Lost?” that focused on the PATRIOT Act and other post 9/11 policy impacts on civil liberties.

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Representatives Increase Efforts to put Congressional Research Reports Online

Members of the House of Representatives interested in public access are pushing for a bill to put all Congressional Research Service (CRS) reports online. This new push comes after the September expiration of a pilot program that provided hundreds of CRS reports to the public on the Internet.

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