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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Overview of Sunset Commission Language in Gregg Bill (S. 3521)

A quick look at the sunset commission proposal in title IV, subtitle B of the “Stop Over Spending Act of 2006,” S. 3521, introduced by Sen. Judd Gregg (R-NH) and reported out of the Senate Budget Committee. Basic Concept

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U.S. Promoting Paralysis by Analysis Worldwide

Jun 27, 2006 by Guest Blogger

What's bad for America is being touted as great for the rest of the world: By year's end, the European Union is expected to adopt REACH, a proposal that would "require manufacturers to test industrial chemicals used in the manufacturing process to gather health and safety data." REACH stands for "Registration, Evaluation and Authorization of Chemicals." The bill "has prompted a U.S.-led coalition of 1

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Sunset Commission Update: Delay in House, Rush in Senate

While House leadership announced that sunset commissions would come up for a vote later than initially predicted, the Senate unexpectedly set the stage for its own consideration of a sunset commission proposal. OMB Watch reported conflicting accounts two weeks ago about the timing for unveiling, and bringing to a vote, a final House package on sunset commissions. At the time, House GOP leadership suggested that a vote could happen imminently, while Hill sources speculated that leadership was being overly optimistic.

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278 Groups Tell Congress to Stop Sunset Commission Proposals

National, state and local organizations from across the country sent a letter to both the House and the Senate opposing legislation to create a sunset commission. Download the letters in PDF format:

Letter to the House of Representatives (6/19/2006)
Letter to the Senate (6/19/2006)

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MSHA Finally Changes Course with Massey Energy?

Jun 17, 2006 by Guest Blogger

Many of you have probably seen the NYT clip today about MSHA's decision to file suit against Massey Energy, charging that Massey has failed to cooperate with the investigation into a deadly coal mine fire: Federal mine safety regulators filed a lawsuit on Friday against one of the largest mining companies in the country in an effort to force its officials to cooperate with the investigation of a deadly fire in January at a West Virginia coal mine.

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PARTial Responses

Jun 14, 2006 by Guest Blogger

A couple of responses to some points raised in yesterday's hearing on PART:

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States Losing Ability to Protect Public Due to Federal Preemptions

Despite the party's repeated use in recent years of states' rights rhetoric, the GOP-dominated Congress and Bush White House have been assiduously working to eliminate the ability of state governments to protect the public.

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Sunset Commissions Update: Take Action

Reports coming from GOP leadership about the timing of sunset commission legislation are conflicting, with one report suggesting that a bill could be considered in the House as early as next week, but agree all the same that some vehicle will move this summer. In the past few days, rumors have circulated that House Majority Leader John Boehner (R-OH) was leading efforts to combine differing sunset commission bills, with the Todd Tiahrt (R-KS) bill (H.R. 2470) the centerpiece bill to be supplemented by language from the other leading bills.

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Legislative Update: Plain Language and GAO Reg Review

The House Government Reform Committee reported out two bills relevant to regulatory policy: one to facilitate compliance by encouraging agencies to draft regulations in plain language, and another to bring the Government Accountability Office into the process of regulatory reviews.

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e-Rulemaking and PART Get Dinged

Jun 12, 2006 by Guest Blogger

E-rulemaking and performance assessment are topics so wonky they rarely are occasion for anyone to say WOW. Ah, but check out the House Appropriations Committee's report to accompany the Transportation/Treasury approps bill, which was just reported out on Friday.

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