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

Spending Caps: The House Budget Resolution by Another Name

Apr 25, 2011 by Craig Jennings

As the date approaches when the Treasury will meet the debt ceiling, the demands of the ~~hostage takers~~ House and Senate conservatives who are playing hard-to-get for their vote to up the ceiling are becoming known. And naturally, rather than put forth ideas that would make a serious attempt at reducing the federal budget deficit, these MOCs are demanding budget mechanisms designed to only limit spending.

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Justice Department to Revise its FOIA Regulations

Apr 21, 2011 by Gavin Baker

The Department of Justice (DOJ) has proposed to update its regulations implementing the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA). The regulations would apply to DOJ and its components, such as the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA).

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Administration Replacing Derided Terror Alert System

Apr 21, 2011 by Gavin Baker

As transparency advocates, we often advocate for government to make more information available to the public. However, sometimes the problem comes when government does make information available – and the information is wrong, confusing, misleading, or manipulative.

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Data Viz Challenge Brings Style to Federal Budget

Apr 20, 2011 by Sam Rosen-Amy

The Budget Brigade here at OMB Watch clearly loves the budget. We also love pretty visualizations. Sadly, there’s a distinct lack of pretty budget visualizations out there. Lucky for us, into this void has stepped the Data Viz Challenge, which this week announced its winner.

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Administration Moves to Shine Light on Contractors' Political Contributions

Apr 20, 2011 by Gary Bass*

A draft executive order on disclosure of political contributions from government contractors is circulating among federal agencies and has caught the attention of a few media outlets. What the order will mean for contractors and the general public will need to be hashed out should the draft become official.

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Reports Detail Agency Efforts to Improve FOIA Implementation

New reports from federal agencies' chief FOIA officers reveal efforts to improve the performance of the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) system. The reports show that many agencies have taken steps to improve their FOIA performance over the last year but that many challenges persist despite these advances.

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White House Unveils Taxpayer Receipt

Apr 15, 2011 by Gavin Baker

Today – on what would be Tax Day, had it not been delayed by Washington, DC's Emanicipation Day holiday – the White House released a new taxpayer receipt tool.

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Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board Still AWOL

Apr 13, 2011 by Gavin Baker

Sens. Joe Lieberman (I-CT), Susan Collins (R-ME), and Daniel Akaka (D-HI) last week urged President Obama to revive the dormant Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board by nominating members to fill the board's vacancies.

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CBO Monthly Budget Review, April 2011

Apr 12, 2011 by Gary Therkildsen*

Last Thursday, the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) released its Monthly Budget Review (MBR) for April. If you've been keeping an eye on this blog, you'd know that the $830 billion deficit Uncle Sam has racked up over the first six months of fiscal year (FY) 2011 is unsurprising and isn't really newsworthy. Of course, that's not the way it's likely to play out in the media or on Capitol Hill.

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FDA Makes Food Recall Search Consumer-Friendly

Apr 12, 2011 by Hal Gordon*

Last week, the FDA announced the release of a new Web search tool that will allow quicker and easier product recall searches. A new, consumer-friendly search tool covering food, drug, animal product, and medical device recalls, was mandated by the recently enacted FDA Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA).

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