Protecting Nonprofit Rights

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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more news

Will Lobbying Policy Change?

May 8, 2009 by Amanda Adams*

Speaking at a panel hosted by George Washington University's Graduate School of Political Management, Norm Eisen the special counsel to President Obama for ethics and government reform indicated that the administration is open to suggestions for modifications. According to RollCall ($$), Eisen said this week that, "there is a process" in place for enforcing the new lobbying rules.

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President's Budget Recommends Removing Some LSC Restrictions

May 7, 2009 by Amanda Adams*

President Obama's FY 2010 budget request includes a total of $435 million, up from $390 million in FY 2009, for the Legal Services Corporation (LSC). The President also requested the elimination of the current restrictions on non-LSC funds, including the restrictions on attorney's fees and participation in class action suits. For more on these restrictions, click here.

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Schumer Urges the President to Designate the VA as a Voter Registration Agency

May 6, 2009 by Amanda Adams*

Senator Charles Schumer (D-NY), the chairman of the Senate Rules and Administration Committee, wrote to President Barack Obama supporting the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) as a voter registration agency. The letter states: "The Veterans Voting Support Act, offered by Senator Feinstein and co-sponsored by myself and you-when you were in the Senate-would have required the Department of Veterans Affair to provide nonpartisan registration services to the veterans it serves.

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Lobbying Restrictions Generate More Criticism

It appears that the Obama administration’s restrictions on lobbying are drawing criticism even as the administration defends the policies. The controversy surrounds two policy documents: one addresses restrictions on hiring lobbyists and others as political appointees, and the other focuses on communications by lobbyists about use of Recovery Act funds.

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Recent FEC Rulings May Indicate Growing Leniency in Enforcement

The Federal Election Commission (FEC) recently issued a series of rulings that may represent a move toward a more lenient interpretation of election laws. The commissioners have repeatedly split along party lines over whether to pursue possible campaign finance violations involving organizations charged with acting as political committees.

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Oral Arguments Indicate Court May Strike Down Key Voting Rights Provision

On April 29, the U.S. Supreme Court heard oral arguments in Northwest Austin Municipal Utility District No. 1 (NAMUDNO) v. Holder, a case in which a small utility district in Texas is challenging Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act of 1965. Section 5 was reauthorized in 2006 and applies to all or part of 16 states, including nine states in their entirety. It requires those states to seek federal approval before changing election rules or procedures due to past laws and practices that discriminated against and disenfranchised racial minorities.

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USAID Extends Effective Date of PVS by 90 Days

May 5, 2009 by Suraj Sazawal

On May 6, 2009, the Federal Register published another announcement extending the effective date of USAID's Partner Vetting System (PVS). It is expected that USAID plans to extend the effective date by 90 days, which will move it to August 4, 2009. The effective date of the rule would have been May 4 had the extension not been implemented. USAID is still without an Adminstrator.

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FEC Commissioners Issue Statements Defending Votes

May 1, 2009 by Amanda Adams*

Following the Federal Election Commission's (FEC) decision to dismiss the case against a 501(c)(6) organization Americans for Job Security without issuing any explanation, the FEC Commissioners recently issued Statements of Reasons. The Democrat Commissioners concluded that the AJS messages appeared to contain express advocacy, and therefore may be subject to campaign finance laws.

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Court Orders Review of FBI Records on California Muslim Organizations as New Complaints Emerge in 2 States

Responding to claims that Muslim organizations have been illegally spied upon in southern California, a federal judge said on April 20, 2009 he will conduct a review of the FBI records. The decision comes after nearly three years of legal efforts by the ACLU and American Muslim groups to obtain information that they say would demonstrate illegal surveillance by the FBI. The FBI will have 30 days to deliver approximately 100 pages of related surveillance memos and the files on the Council of American Islamic Relations (CAIR) and its leaders to the judge.

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Judges: Application of Executive State Secret Privilege Limited

On April 28, 2009, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit rejected the Obama administration's claim that a lawsuit involving extraordinary rendition must be dismissed for national security reasons. The three judge panel's unanimous decision said the federal government could not assert the "State Secret" privilege to throw out an entire civil case prior to the discovery phase. The 26 page ruling said that evidence the executive branch claims to be a state secret must be evaluated by the court on an "item-by-item basis." The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) and other advocacy groups are hopeful that this ruling sets a precedent for surveillance lawsuits and charities designated as supporters of terrorism based on secret evidence held by the Treasury Department.

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