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

Concern Grows Over Unauthorized Domestic Spying

The Bush administration's acknowledgement of secret and unauthorized domestic spying since the 9/11 attacks has roiled both Republicans and Democrats in Congress. On Dec. 16, The New York Times reported President Bush authorized the National Security Agency (NSA) to eavesdrop on domestic phone calls and emails without a wiretapping warrant, kicking off a storm of protest just as renewal of the USA PATRIOT Act was being considered. OMB Watch responded to the unfolding events in a Dec. 20 statement. The following is a summary of major events since the Times story broke.

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Collins' Revised Chemical Security Bill: An Improving Grade

Shortly before Congress broke for recess in December, Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME), Chair of the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Government Affairs, introduced the Chemical Facility Anti-Terrorism Act of 2005 (S. 2145). The bill, which is co-sponsored by Sens. Joseph Lieberman (D-CT), Norm Coleman (R-MN), Thomas Carper (D-DE) and Carl Levin (D-MI), is a significant improvement over the draft bill previously evaluated by OMB Watch (see Failing Grade on Chemical Security, The OMB Watcher [Dec. 13, 2005]), but still fails to require reporting on the use of safer technologies.

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Congress to Increase Debt Limit for Fourth Time In Four Years

Jan 10, 2006 by Matthew Madia

Last April Congress called for an increase in the debt limit -- the national debt is expected to hit $8,184 billion in mid-February -- however they have yet to act. Lawmakers are expected to take up the issue in February after voting on final tax and budget reconciliation bills, marking the fourth time during President Bush's presidency the debt limit has needed to be raised.

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Is Industry Pulling EPA's Strings?

Correspondences obtained by OMB Watch between the Small Business Administration (SBA) and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) raise significant questions about the influence SBA exerted over EPA's decision to pursue its current proposals to reduce chemical reporting under the Toxics Release Inventory (TRI).

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Making the Government Less Effective

OMB claims that it seeks to make agency guidance practices “more transparent, consistent, and accountable,” but the Proposed Bulletin fails to serve those goals and is, instead, a roadmap for government that is less responsive to the public’s needs.

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$119 Billion Deficit in First Quarter of 2006

Jan 9, 2006 by Matthew Madia

The Congressional Budget Office released the Monthly Budget Review on Friday, in which they reported the federal budget deficit for the first quarter of 2006 as being $119 billion. This figure is fairly close to the shortfall seen in the first quarter last year.

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House Democrats Put Forth Reform Package

Jan 6, 2006 by Adam Hughes*

House Democrats David Obey (D-WI), Barney Frank (D-MA), David Price (D-NC), and Tom Allen (D-ME) have produced a 14-point package to reform House rules. The package is cosponsored by 120 House Democrats, including Minority Leader Pelosi (D-CA) and Minority Whip Hoyer (D-MD).

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GDP Growth At 4.1 Percent

Dec 21, 2005 by Guest Blogger

The Commerce Department reported today the economy grew by 4.1 percent in the fourth quarter, despite surging energy prices. Business growth was slightly lower than the government had previously estimated it would be. This growth was attributed to high consumer demand, especially for cars, as well as business investment.

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Statement on Bush's Unauthorized Domestic Spying

The admission by President Bush that he personally authorized the surveillance of American citizens beyond judicial oversight raises two sets of critical questions, one dealing with whether he followed the letter of the law and the other with the quality of the judgment he exercised. Congress must now concern itself with both these areas.

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Tax Gap Is The Highest It's Been In 46 Years

Dec 20, 2005 by Guest Blogger

The tax gap is the gap between personal income and adjusted gross income (AGI), and it is currently the highest it has been in 46 years worth of data analyzed by the Bureau of Economic Analysis.

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