Political Interference

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...

read in full

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...

read in full

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...

read in full

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...

read in full

more news

Editorial Calls for Total Transparency by Lobbyists

Nov 20, 2008 by Amanda Adams*

An editorial in the Washington Times, Lobbyists are good people, too advocates that transparency is the only way to fight against the stigma surrounding lobbyists. As the title suggests, lobbyists are not all corruptive and many may lobby on behalf of nonprofits, for example. "Shocking news in this season of lobbyist bashing - many lobbyists not only are good people but also represent real people." The author proposes transparency.

read in full

Panel Sends Regulatory Recommendations to Obama, Congress

On Nov. 14, a panel of regulatory experts released a report calling for significant changes to the federal regulatory process. The recommendations are directed to President-elect Obama and the new Congress and are designed to achieve a more effective, efficient, and timely process that is now burdened with excessive requirements and assessments.

read in full

Lobbying and 501(c)(3)'s

Nov 14, 2008 by Amanda Adams*

An article from onPhilanthropy provides information on how certain requirements included in the Honest Leadership and Open Government Act (HLOGA) effect 501(c)(3) groups. The article covers reporting requirements, gift rules, and much more. "Charitable and other section 501(c)(3) organizations are not exempt from federal lobbying laws, so it is vitally important that your organization understands its new obligations."

read in full

Recommendations on Regulatory Reform for the Next President and Congress

Nov 14, 2008 by Matthew Madia

As most readers of Reg•Watch would agree, the regulatory system in the U.S. is in need of serious repair. News headlines consistently tell tales of contaminated food, dangerous workplaces, and an environment stressed by pollution and posing risks to public health and welfare. Too often, failure can be traced back to the government we entrust with providing us at least some protection from these risks.

read in full

Rules for Lobbyists in Transition

Nov 13, 2008 by Amanda Adams*

New rules on lobbying have been announced for those working on President-elect Barack Obama's transition team. For example, lobbyists can serve in the transition as long as their activities do not involve areas of policy they have tried to influence in the past year. Federal lobbyists will be prohibited from any lobbying while they are at work on the transition. The rules also prohibit people from lobbying the Obama administration for a year on any matters in which they worked while on the transition team.

read in full

Obama Transition And Issues of Ethics

Nov 10, 2008 by Amanda Adams*

The New York Times reports that President-elect Barack Obama "is trying to fulfill campaign promises of sweeping ethics restrictions that could deter some potential appointees." According to Obama's website, political appointees will be prohibited from working on regulations or contracts directly and substantially related to their prior employer for two years. And no political appointee will be able to lobby the executive branch after leaving government service during the remainder of the administration.

read in full

Groups Release Agenda to Overhaul the Presidential Public Financing System Along with New Ethics and Lobbying Reforms

Nov 7, 2008 by Amanda Adams*

Democracy 21, the Brennan Center for Justice, the Campaign Legal Center, Common Cause, the League of Women Voters, Public Citizen, and U.S. PIRG have released a reform agenda for the 111th Congress. Their top priority is to reform the presidential campaign financing system and create a new public financing system for congressional elections.

read in full

Complaints about Church Electioneering Continue

The 2008 election cycle has produced a number of complaints about religious and charitable organizations illegally opposing or endorsing candidates. The final weeks leading up to the election were no exception, as Americans United for Separation of Church and State (AU) filed three new complaints to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS).

read in full

Midnight at the White House: Bush Using Rules to Cement Legacy

The Bush administration is working on a spate of rules it hopes to finalize before its time in power expires. The last-minute rules cover a broad range of policy, but many share a common trait: relaxing existing requirements on businesses. The Bush administration appears to be pushing to deregulate in areas like environmental protection, worker leave, and auto safety. Many of the controversial rules are expected to be finalized in the coming weeks. The administration is pushing to finalize rules in November, not January, in order to assure they cannot be undone by the next president.

read in full

For Controversial Rules, Bush Officials Give Mixed Signals

Oct 28, 2008 by Matthew Madia

Under a deadline imposed by White House Chief of Staff Josh Bolten, federal agencies were to propose any regulation they wished to finalize under President Bush's watch by June 1 or wait for a new president to take the reigns of government. But several controversial rules that missed the June 1 deadline appeared destined for completion nonetheless.

read in full