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...

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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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Most Bundling Information Remains Undisclosed

Sep 24, 2009 by Amanda Adams*

After the Federal Election Commission (FEC) formulated a rule on reporting campaign contributions bundled by lobbyists, many were concerned that it was too narrow and would not quite capture very much information. Now, we see those points were not misguided. The situations under which a member of Congress is legally required to disclose a lobbyist's fundraising are limited.

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White House "Hopes" Agencies Do Not Appoint Lobbyists to Advisory Committees

Sep 23, 2009 by Amanda Adams*

The White House has announced that federally registered lobbyists can not be appointed to agency advisory boards and commissions. These boards and commissions advise the federal government on policy. The White House blog post states; "Keeping these advisory boards free of individuals who currently are registered federal lobbyists represents a dramatic change in the way business is done in Washington.

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Power Plants’ Last Stand?

Sep 22, 2009 by Matthew Madia

Regulation of major greenhouse gas emitters appears increasingly inevitable. The latest news comes out of the U.S. Second Circuit Court of Appeals, where two federal judges ruled that state and local governments can sue power companies over greenhouse gas emissions and their contribution to global warming.

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Czar Talk

Sep 18, 2009 by Matthew Madia

Czar oversight, or, more accurately, czar bashing, has been co-opted by conservative commentators and some Republican lawmakers. It seems conservatives are just trying to score political points by smearing czars, and smearing President Obama in the process. That’s a shame, because czar oversight is very much an apolitical issue, or at least it should be.

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EPA May Tighten Smog Standards

Sep 16, 2009 by Matthew Madia

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Lisa Jackson announced today that she will review and possibly revise the national air quality standard for ozone, or smog. The Bush administration announced the standard on March 12, 2008, but clean air advocates and good government groups accused Bush officials of ignoring scientific conclusions in the face of political pressure. Today, EPA intimated that it will more closely align the regulation to the underlying science.

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Sunstein Confirmed as Obama's Regulatory Chief

On Sept. 10, the Senate confirmed Cass Sunstein as the administrator of the White House Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA). Sunstein's nomination had been stalled by several senators who were concerned about the nominee's views on such issues as animal rights and citizens' right to bear arms. The Senate confirmed Sunstein by a 57-40 vote.

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Cass Sunstein Confirmed

Sep 10, 2009 by Matthew Madia

As expected after yesterday’s cloture vote, Cass Sunstein was confirmed as the administrator of the White House Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs. The vote was 57-40. Click here to read OMB Watch’s statement on the confirmation.

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OMB Watch Statement on Cass Sunstein's Senate Confirmation

WASHINGTON, Sept. 10, 2009—On Sept. 10, the Senate confirmed Cass Sunstein as the administrator of the White House Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA). OIRA is a small but powerful office that reviews regulations and approves government forms and surveys that require the public to divulge information. The Senate confirmed Sunstein by a 57-40 vote.

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Sunstein One Step Closer to Confirmation

Sep 9, 2009 by Matthew Madia

Update (9/10/09): A little after 4:00 pm, the Senate confirmed Cass Sunstein as OIRA administrator. The vote was 57-40. Click here to read OMB Watch’s statement on the confirmation.

Today, Cass Sunstein, President Obama's nominee to head the White House Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, passed a critical test when the Senate voted to end debate on his nomination.

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Administration Discloses Ethics Waivers Granted by Federal Agencies

Sep 9, 2009 by Amanda Adams*

In a blog post, the White House announced the administration has now consolidated and released ten ethics waivers granted by federal agencies. The waivers made the appointees exempt from conflict of interest and revolving door restrictions set forth in the President's Executive Order.

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