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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One Week Remains for Comments on Critical Infrastructure Information Rule

Only a single week remains to submit comments to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) on the highly controversial Critical Infrastructure Information (CII) rule. DHS published an interim final rule in the Federal Register Feb. 20 with a 90-day public comment period that ends May 20. Even though the agency continues to accept comments on the CII program, the rule went into effect upon publication. DHS has reported to Congress that it has already received several submissions for the CII program.

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Economy and Jobs Watch: Corporate Profits at Record Highs, While Labor Compensation at 38-year Lows

Recent data show a major shift in the balance between corporate income and labor compensation. As a share of the economy labor compensation has not been this low in almost 40 years (since 1966), and after-tax corporate profits are at the highest levels ever recorded by the Bureau of Economic Analysis.

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Economy and Jobs Watch: Employment Struggling to Recover

Employment increased by a steady 288,000 jobs in April, the Department of Labor announced earlier this month. The unemployment rate remains steady at 5.6 percent as well.

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Secret ACLU, NYCLU Lawsuit Tests Constitutionality of Patriot Act

While Congress remains reluctant to extend provisions of the Patriot Act set to expire in 2005, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) and New York Civil Liberties Union revealed that they secretly filed a lawsuit last month challenging the constitutionality of a section of the Patriot Act that gives the government the authority to use "National Security Letters" to subpoena business records without judicial oversight.

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As U.S. Embraces Secrecy, Other Countries Embrace Openness

Countries around the world are embracing laws promoting openness in government, according to an updated global survey for freedominfo.org, a web site operated by the National Security Archive and other openness advocates. Over 50 countries have adopted freedom-of-information laws similar to the United States' Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), which guarantees the public's right to access documents held by most of the executive branch. More than half of these governments passed these laws within the last decade.

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National Income share

May 7, 2004 by Guest Blogger

Recent data show a major shift in the balance between corporate income and labor compensation. As a share of the economy labor compensation has not been this low, and after-tax corporate profits have not been this high in (at least) 25 years.

Source: National Economic Trends (St. Louis Fed)

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Deeper into Debt

May 5, 2004 by Guest Blogger

The new request for military funding will put us another $25 billion in debt - still no revenue solution in sight.

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Administration Removes Web Information on Women's Issues

The current administration is removing information pertaining to women’s issues from government websites, according to a new report by the National Council for Research on Women (NCRW). The report, “Missing: Information About Women’s Lives” cites a number of examples from the Department of Labor (DOL), the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), and other agencies as it catalogs how the Bush administration is removing or distorting information.

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DHS Receives Few CII Submissions

Only two companies and two associations have submitted information to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) that will be kept secret under the Critical Infrastructure Information (CII) program, according to an April 21 testimony. At the time of the testimony, DHS had been operating the program for two months.

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Economy and Jobs Watch: GDP Up, But Risks Remain

Gross domestic product (GDP) rose by a 4.2 percent annual rate in the first quarter, according to the Bureau of Economic Analysis. This is about the same as the 4.1 percent rate from the last quarter of 2003, and shows the economy growing at a steady, if not exceptionally strong, rate. However, forecasters had expected growth to come in at a stronger 5 percent rate.

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Pages

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.

One Week Remains for Comments on Critical Infrastructure Information Rule

Economy and Jobs Watch: Corporate Profits at Record Highs, While Labor Compensation at 38-year Lows

Economy and Jobs Watch: Employment Struggling to Recover

Secret ACLU, NYCLU Lawsuit Tests Constitutionality of Patriot Act

As U.S. Embraces Secrecy, Other Countries Embrace Openness

National Income share

May 7, 2004 by Guest Blogger

Deeper into Debt

May 5, 2004 by Guest Blogger

Administration Removes Web Information on Women's Issues

DHS Receives Few CII Submissions

Economy and Jobs Watch: GDP Up, But Risks Remain

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