A study by the Annenberg Public Policy Center released June 19th shows that for legislative issue advertising in the national capitol area in 2001-2002, the side that spends more wins more. In a second report, PoliticalMoneyLine released an analysis of spending for the second half of 2002 that depicts more record breaking spending on lobbying Congress, primarily by business interests.

When the “Charitable Giving Act of 2003" H.R. 7 was introduced in the House last month, there were optimistic statements that the Ways and Means Committee could consider the bill before the July 4 recess. However, no action is pending and controversy about provisions involving foundations is gaining national attention.

On June 9th, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) published an announcement seeking public comment on a proposed research study to examine best practices of intermediary organizations that serve faith and community based organizations.

OMB Watch is working to inform nonprofits about federal agency proposals to streamline the grants process, and get input from state and local groups heard by the agencies. As part of this project, the National Council of Nonprofit Associations and OMB Watch co-sponsored focus groups of state and local nonprofits that reviewed recent Federal Register announcements in detail. The focus groups represented a variety of programs and came from diverse areas of the country.