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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Obama Tax Cut Compromise Capitulates on Estate Tax

Dec 7, 2010 by Gary Bass*

President Obama's tax cut deal with congressional Republicans, if enacted by Congress, will achieve what President George W. Bush could not get done: create a path to effectively kill the estate tax.

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$3.3 Trillion Deficit Reduction Plan Set to Take Effect Jan. 1

Dec 2, 2010 by Craig Jennings

One deficit plan that's not getting much attention, and one which can easily pass a Republican-controlled Congress, is the one that the Republican-controlled Congress approved in 2001 (and further augmented in 2003): The 2001-2003 Bush tax cuts.

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President’s Deficit Commission Releases Not-So-Great Final Proposal

Dec 1, 2010 by Sam Rosen-Amy

At long last, after months of meetings and deliberation, the much-hyped National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform (the Deficit Commission) released its final report earlier today. Tasked by the President to slash the budget deficit by 2015, the Commission had until today to release a plan. If fourteen of the eighteen members of the Commission vote to approve it, the then-leaders of the House and Senate (Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) and Sen. Harry Reid (D-NV)) agreed to bring the plan up for a vote.

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EPA Expands Toxic Right-to-Know Program

Dec 1, 2010 by Brian Turnbaugh*

For the first time since 1999, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has added chemicals to the list of toxic substances that must be reported to the Toxics Release Inventory (TRI). The TRI program tracks toxic pollution from thousands of facilities nationwide. The move is an overdue step in the right direction for this crucial right-to-know program and represents a welcome break from the previous administration's attempts to weaken TRI.

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OMB Watch Pans Deficit Commission Plan

WASHINGTON, Dec. 1, 2010—OMB Watch today panned the plan proposed by the co-chairs of the National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform to reshape the nation’s fiscal priorities. While the plan contains some praiseworthy provisions targeted at the tax code and the federal budget process, overall, it represents an unfortunate step backward in meeting the needs of the nation’s working families.

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Three Months Later, Missing "Oil Budget" Methodology Released

Nov 23, 2010 by Gavin Baker

The government responders to the BP Deepwater Horizon oil spill today released its report on the "oil budget" tool used to calculate what happened to the spilled oil. Unlike the version of the report released on Aug. 4, this one comes peer-reviewed and with methodology.

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Commentary: Earmark Ban's Potential Impacts Unclear

Earmarks took center stage during the week of Nov. 15 when congressional Republicans pledged to "ban" the controversial appropriations tool in a bid to answer the supposed call of midterm voters to reform Washington. Long used by members of Congress to guide federal spending toward certain projects, earmarks can be seen by the public as a form of corruption. While proponents of the ban argue that eliminating earmarks is good for both transparency and the budget, critics of the ban argue this is not necessarily the case.

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Whither Transparency in the Next Congress?

When the 112th Congress convenes in January, attention will be focused on the newly Republican-controlled House. On transparency issues, House Republican leaders have sounded positive tones. However, it remains to be seen whether bipartisan consensus on meaningful transparency can be achieved or whether transparency will be wielded as a partisan weapon.

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Millions Face Loss of Unemployment Insurance

On Nov. 18, the House failed to pass a three-month extension of unemployment insurance (UI), putting the benefits of nearly 2 million Americans in jeopardy. With funds for federal benefits set to expire Nov. 30, the failure to enact an extension sets up a post-Thanksgiving battle between UI extension advocates and deficit hawks. Complicating matters, the debate over extending the Bush tax cuts will likely encroach upon the UI benefits extension dispute, increasing the likelihood that many citizens will be cut off from help as the holiday season begins.

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Advocates Meet to Invigorate Environmental Right-to-Know Policies

Nearly 100 public interest advocates from around the country recently convened in Washington, DC, to build an agenda for improving the public's right to know about environmental and public health threats. Advocates for public health, safety, and the environment met to develop federal policy proposals that would enhance government engagement with communities and improve access to information crucial to protecting the public. The emerging agenda seeks to capitalize on recent openness initiatives by the federal government and the Obama administration's efforts to improve government transparency, participation, and collaboration.

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