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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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FEC Commissioners Explain Rule Delay to House Committee

On May 13, the Federal Election Commission (FEC) voted to delay for 90-days action on a proposed new rule extending federal regulation to independent political committees. House Administration Committee Chair Robert Ney (R-OH) immediately set and held a hearing May 20, to shed some light on what questions and issues Committee members have about the rule, and what action the FEC might take at the end of the 90-day period. All agreed that no action on the rule is likely to take effect this year.

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IRS May Investigate Catholic Diocese Political Communications

A charity watchdog group has asked the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) to investigate and possibly revoke the tax-exempt status of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Colorado Springs.

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Judge Acquits Greenpeace in Victory for Free Speech

On May 19, 2004, a federal court judge threw out the charges brought against Greenpeace by the United States Justice Department. Shortly after the prosecution rested their case, the judge decided that there was not enough evidence for the case to go to the jury and granted the motion for acquittal.

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Public Outcry Forces DeLay to Cancel Fundraiser

A charity associated with Rep. Tom DeLay (R-TX) has finally decided to pull the plug on its fundraiser that was to take place during the week of the Republican National Convention in New York. The cancellation came after numerous complaints were filed to the IRS and an outpouring of criticism was rehashed in most major U.S. newspapers.

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FEC Delays Political Committee Rulemaking for 90 Days

At its May 13 meeting the Federal Election Commission (FEC) approved a General Counsel recommendation to defer action on its political committee rulemaking for 90 days. The General Counsel said the FEC needed time to give the complex issues in the case more thorough consideration, saying "It is just as important not to drop the issue as to get it right." The move makes it unlikely any new rules will take effect this year. In response the House Administration Committee has scheduled a hearing for May 20.

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OMB Updates Guidance for Federal Grantees

As part of its effort to streamline the federal grants process, the Office of Management and Budget has published updated versions of its grants circulars that make definitions of key terms consistent for all types of grantees. The new Title 2 of the Code of Federal Regulations will centralize all policy guidance and rules for grants and cooperative agreements.

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Lawsuits Challenge Viewpoint Discrimination Against Nonprofit Public Communications

The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) filed two federal lawsuits aimed at protecting nonprofit speech.

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2 FEC Commissioners Propose Revised Rule on Political Committees

Two of the six Federal Election Commission’s (FEC) six Commissioners have proposed a scaled-down version of the controversial proposed rule extending federal campaign finance rules to independent organizations. The proposal, drafted by Commissioners Michael Toner (R) and Scott Thomas (D), excludes organizations exempt under Section 501(c) of the Internal Revenue Code and some Section 527 groups from regulation. However, it incorporates thresholds that are vague and leave exempted organizations open to similar regulatory restrictions in the future.

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HHS Bows to Political Pressure, Pulls Funding from Conference

On April 26, after an intensive campaign by conservative groups, Health and Human Services (HHS) pulled partial funding for the Global Health Council’s 31st annual conference. Conservatives objected to some of the topics and speakers in the June conference and claimed that federal dollars given to fund the event was being used to lobby. To ensure the government and others that federal dollars were not being used for lobbying, the conference sponsors segregated its lobbying component in a separate “pre-conference” day.

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Open Debates Calls for the Revocation of the Commission on Presidential Debates? Tax-Exempt Status

Open Debates, a coalition of reform groups, filed a complaint at the IRS last week asking that it revoke the tax-exempt status of the 501(c)(3) organization in charge of general election presidential debates.

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Resources & Research

Living in the Shadow of Danger: Poverty, Race, and Unequal Chemical Facility Hazards

People of color and people living in poverty, especially poor children of color, are significantly more likely...

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A Tale of Two Retirements: One for CEOs and One for the Rest of Us

The 100 largest CEO retirement funds are worth a combined $4.9 billion, equal to the entire retirement account savings of 41 percent of American fam...

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