Federal, State and Local Nonprofits: Our Regulatory Policy Department is asking for sign-ons for a letter for organizations opposing sunset commissions. As you know, for nonprofits, sunset commissions would make all government programs be forced to plead for their lives on a periodic basis, such as every ten years, before an unelected sunset commission which would recommend whether they live, die, or be “streamlined.” In the proposals that have circulated from the White House and in several bills introduced in the 109th, sunset and government reorganization proposals from these commissions would then be rammed through Congress on a fast-track, take-it-or-leave-it basis — with limited room for debate, and no chance for amendments. Leading proposals would also exempt the sunset commission from the open government and balance requirements of the Federal Advisory Committee Act, thus making it possible for the White House to name industry lobbyists to the sunset commission and then allow them to make these important decisions in secret proceedings. The House is trying to get a vote on the budget resolution by the end of this week, so the bargaining within the caucus is taking place as we speak.

A Washington Post article on the problems of grants.gov. From the Post: The new "Grants.gov" system, under development at a cost of tens of billions of dollars, aims to replace paper applications with electronic forms. It is being phased in at the National Institutes of Health, Department of Housing and Urban Development and other federal agencies. All 26 grant-giving agencies are supposed to have their application processes fully online by 2007.

From the Roundtable: The U.S. Senate, which has been reluctant to tackle the issue of religious hiring rights, will now take up the matter following a recent federal court decision which upheld the right of the Salvation Army to consider religion when hiring employees that are paid with public funds.