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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Public Meetings of Super Committee Few and Far Between

Oct 27, 2011 by Craig Jennings

It's been 48 days since the Super Committee's last public meeting on Sept. 8 (and over a month passed between the Super Committee's second and third public hearings). For those of us who have been watching the Super Committee since day one, eagerly awaiting information on the specifics of its proposal for cutting $1.5 trillion dollars from the federal deficit, 48 days of radio silence not only has us on edge, it also has us questioning the Super Committee's commitment to transparency and the democratic process.

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Senate Passes Bill to Improve Pipeline Safety and Increase Public Access to Information

On Oct. 17, the U.S. Senate unanimously passed a bill to strengthen safety standards and increase public availability of inspection results and enforcement actions related to the nation’s 2.3 million miles of pipelines. The legislation was sparked by a series of deadly explosions in 2010 and 2011 that drew scrutiny to the safety of gas and oil pipelines.

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Update of Key Transparency Law Would Better Protect Americans' Privacy

A critical but neglected transparency law could be updated for the 21st century if a new congressional proposal succeeds. The Privacy Act Modernization for the Information Age Act (S. 1732), introduced by Sen. Daniel Akaka (D-HI) on Oct. 18, would update the Privacy Act of 1974 (5 U.S.C. 552a). The Privacy Act governs what actions federal agencies must take when collecting personal information on American citizens and how agencies use and share it.

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Despite Delays and Threats, EPA Finally Classifies TCE as a Cancer-Causing Chemical

After more than 20 years, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has finally determined that trichloroethylene (TCE), a chlorinated solvent used primarily for removing grease from metal, causes cancer. The assessment was finalized by the EPA’s Integrated Risk Information System (IRIS), an important but troubled program that is tasked with providing the public with critical information about dangerous chemical exposures.

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Libraries Can Connect the Public to Open Government

In recent years, government has increasingly embraced the proactive disclosure of information and created online tools to increase transparency. But how do Americans discover that information? Who helps them learn how to use complex government databases and tools? The answer may be a surprisingly familiar one: libraries.

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Congress Should Streamline Budget Process

Along with all the attention the federal budget is receiving these days, the budget process itself is coming under greater scrutiny. Both the House and Senate budget committees held hearings recently to discuss how to reform the budget process. The panels featured former budget directors and academics, but curiously, there was little talk of fixing the immediate problem of budgetary gridlock.

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Obama’s Deficit Reduction Plan Has Room for Improvement

The nation is less than two months away from what could be a seminal moment in its fiscal history. In late November, the new “Super Committee,” formed by the recent debt ceiling deal, will release its set of recommendations to cut the federal budget deficit by $1.2 trillion. In an effort to influence the hectic debate the committee’s recommendations are sure to start, President Obama released on Sept. 19 a $3.3 trillion deficit reduction plan as a package of recommendations for the committee to adopt.

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Administration and Global Partners Forge Ahead with Open Government Agenda

The launch of the Open Government Partnership (OGP) on Sept. 20 marks a new era for open government in the United States and abroad. The national action plans released by the OGP founding countries offer the potential to create more responsive governments that better serve the needs and aspirations of their peoples.

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Improving the Public’s Right to Know at Rio+20

On Sept. 2, 30 U.S. public interest groups joined civil society organizations around the globe in demanding that their national governments improve access to environmental and public health information and increase public participation in environmental policymaking. These organizations are calling on their governments to make such commitments at the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development (UNCSD) in order for people around the world to be able to effectively use environmental information to protect themselves, their families, and their communities from pollution, toxic chemicals, and other hazards.

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What Happens When We Tax the "Job Creators"

Sep 22, 2011 by Craig Jennings

I'm not sure what a "job creator" is, but for Republicans leveling criticism at Obama's recent deficit reduction proposal, a "job creator" is simply a high-income earner. They argue that because many small business owners file their taxes as individuals, if individual income tax rates on individuals are increased, it will reduce the investment capital available for small businesses to hire more people.

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more resources

Top 400 Taxpayers See Tax Rates Rise, But There’s More to the Story

Chlorine Bleach Plants Needlessly Endanger 63 Million Americans

U.S. Industrial Facilities Reported Fewer Toxic Releases in 2014

Methane Causes Climate Change. Here's How the President Plans to Cut Emissions by 40-45 Percent.

Public Meetings of Super Committee Few and Far Between

Oct 27, 2011 by Craig Jennings

Senate Passes Bill to Improve Pipeline Safety and Increase Public Access to Information

Update of Key Transparency Law Would Better Protect Americans' Privacy

Despite Delays and Threats, EPA Finally Classifies TCE as a Cancer-Causing Chemical

Libraries Can Connect the Public to Open Government

Congress Should Streamline Budget Process

Obama’s Deficit Reduction Plan Has Room for Improvement

Administration and Global Partners Forge Ahead with Open Government Agenda

Improving the Public’s Right to Know at Rio+20

What Happens When We Tax the "Job Creators"

Sep 22, 2011 by Craig Jennings

Pages

Living in the Shadow of Danger: Poverty, Race, and Unequal Chemical Facility Hazards

A Tale of Two Retirements: One for CEOs and One for the Rest of Us

Blowing Smoke: Chemical Companies Say “Trust Us,” But Environmental and Workplace Safety Violations Belie Their Rhetoric

Gasping for Support: Implementation of Tougher Air Quality Standards Will Require New Funds for State Agencies

Citizen Health & Safety Topics

Recent Reports

Living in the Shadow of Danger: State Scorecards

Living in the Shadow of Danger: Poverty, Race, and Unequal Chemical Facility Hazards

A Tale of Two Retirements: One for CEOs and One for the Rest of Us