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

Chemical Safety Board Wants Improved Accident Evidence Gathering

The U.S. Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board (CSB) recently proposed a new rule that would require plant owners and operators to preserve critical evidence after major spills or explosions. The agency believes that companies under investigation have, on occasion, altered or handled evidence from a chemical accident in a way that hampers a thorough investigation. CSB is an independent federal agency charged with investigating the root causes of industrial chemical accidents, and making safety recommendations, similar to the way that the National Transportation Safety Board investigates airplane crashes.

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Initial Analysis of the President's 2007 Budget

The president's Fiscal Year 2007 (FY 07) budget would set the nation on a dangerous fiscal path and does nothing to honestly address the federal government's looming budgetary challenges. The budget--totaling $2.77 trillion--would make permanent the president's first-term tax cuts, which primarily benefit the wealthy, and pay for those cuts in part by cutting some entitlement programs and drastically reducing domestic discretionary spending (outside of homeland security and defense).

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You're Doing a Heckuva Job Georgie: Debunking the State of the Union

Feb 2, 2006 by Guest Blogger

OMB Watch has written an analysis debunking some of the statements made by President Bush in the 2006 State of the Union address. Be sure to check it out.

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You're Doing a Heckuva Job, Georgie: Debunking the State of the Union

In his Jan. 31 State of the Union address, President Bush spoke on many issues vital to the country including foreign policy, the economy, and health care. As is often the case in the annual address, the president offered far fewer specifics and suggested fewer solutions than many Americans would have liked to hear. Still, the president did manage to articulate a few specific points, some suggesting policies and others spinning the facts. To follow is a look behind a few of the more misleading statements made by the president in the address.

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2006 State of the Union

Feb 1, 2006 by Guest Blogger

Last night President Bush delivered his annual State of the Union Address. Check back here later in the day for an analysis on the comments Bush made regarding taxes, the budget, and the economy last night.

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Bernake Confirmed as Chairman of the Federal Reserve

Jan 31, 2006 by Guest Blogger

The Senate confirmed Ben Bernake today as Chairman of the Federal Reserve. He replaces Alan Greenspan, who has stepped down after more than 18 years guiding the nation’s monetary policy. Bernake was confirmed by voice vote.

Washington Post: Federal Reserve Raises Interest Rate; Bernake Confirmed as Next Chairman

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Tax & Budget Talking Points; New Budget Blog

Jan 27, 2006 by Guest Blogger

The Fair Taxes for All Coalition has released new talking points on Congress' plan to cut the budget and pass new tax cuts. The talking points cover the new deficit projections, the possibility of extending capital gains and dividends cuts, and this year's new tax cuts.

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State-by-State Analysis of Income Inequality

Jan 26, 2006 by Guest Blogger

The Center on Budget and Policy Priorities and the Economic Policy Institute have released a study called "Pulling Apart: A State-by-State Analysis of Income Trends." The study examines income inequality and finds that the gap between the highest-income families and poor and middle-income families grew significantly between the early 1980s and the early 2000s. The study finds that during this time, the incomes of the bottom fifth of families grew more slowly than the incomes of the top fifth of families in 38 states.

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CBO Projects $337 Billion Deficit for 2006

Jan 26, 2006 by Matthew Madia

Today the Congressional Budget Office projected a $337 billion deficit for 2006. The increase over last year's $318 billion recorded deficit is largely attributed to hurricane costs and the introduction of the Medicare prescription drug benefit this month. $337 billion is far less than the Office of Management and Budget's estimate stating that the deficit will exceed $400 billion this year.

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Update: "Is Industry Pulling EPA's Strings?"

On Jan. 23 Thomas Sullivan, chief counsel for advocacy with The Small Business Administration (SBA), contacted OMB Watch in response to "Is Industry Pulling EPA's Strings?", an article recently published in The Watcher that describes a troubling pattern of close cooperation and extensive communication between the SBA and the Environmental Protection Agency around reducing chemical reporting under the Toxic Release Inventory (TRI), in order cut down on governmental paperwork for companies. Sullivan asked that OMB Watch clarify that the 1997 investigation by SBA's Inspector General into possible unethical actions around the TRI by SBA lawyer Kevin Bromberg, who has previously advocated for an industry coalition on TRI, found no evidence of inappropriate action. During his conversation with OMB Watch, Sullivan acknowledged that all of the facts cited in the article about recent interactions between EPA and SBA are correct. The article has been updated to reflect SBA's request.

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