Appropriations

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

$83 Billion War Funding Request in the Works

Dec 3, 2008 by Craig Jennings

Buried in this article on Secretary of Defense Robert Gates staying in office for the incoming Obama Administration, is this mention of the next war funding request from the current administration:

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Democrats, Obama Prepare Economic Stimulus Package for January

The passage of an unemployment insurance extension, which occurred at the end of November, is likely the last effort by the 110th Congress to enact legislation to stimulate the economy. With Republicans continuing to block immediate passage of a large economic stimulus package, Democrats are preparing to move legislation as soon as President-elect Barack Obama takes office in January 2009.

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TARP Oversight Helped, Hindered by Senate

A pair of bills designed to improve oversight of the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) has been introduced in the Senate. The first would place restrictions on the use of federal funds and provide greater transparency, and the second would strengthen the role of the Special Inspector General for TARP (SIGTARP). TARP was created by the $700 billion financial bailout bill that Congress passed before the election.

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Happy Thanksgiving!

Nov 26, 2008 by Craig Jennings

While we here in the Budget Brigade are thankful that our respective alma mates are poised to clinch BCS bowl berths (hook 'em, Horns!), we are even more thankful that President Elect Obama has serious concerns about the current BCS system. That's change we can believe in!

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A Few Trillion More Than 700 Billion

Nov 25, 2008 by Craig Jennings

Updated: See below.

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Competitive Sourcing Continues to Fail

Nov 24, 2008 by Adam Hughes*

The Government Accountability Office (GAO) released a new report on Friday on the Bush administration's competitive sourcing initiative, which allows the federal government to hold public-private competitions for the right to deliver commercial services for the government (things like janitorial services or food preparation or maintenance). If a private sector bid can show savings of $10 million or more or 10 percent of the cost of providing those services in-house, they win the competition. /p>

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Friendly Advice

Nov 21, 2008 by Craig Jennings

When going to Washington to ask Congress for $25 billion to help you out of jam because your company is going bankrupt, it's probably best to leave the private jet at home.

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Better News for Workers

Nov 20, 2008 by Craig Jennings

Today the Senate approved, by a voice vote, a 7-week extension for unemployment insurance and six more on top of that in states where unemployment is higher than 6 percent. The bill, HR 6867, cleared the House Oct. 3 368-28. The bill now goes to President Bush, who is expected to sign it. Update (Fri., Nov. 21): President Bush has signed the bill into law.

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Legistorm Launches Searchable Earmarks Website

Nov 20, 2008 by Adam Hughes*

There's been a lot of buzz in Washington and around the country the last couple of years about earmarks. It's the new four letter word of politics, with practically every Senator and Representative talking publicly about how awful they are. Yet earmarks in and of themselves are really not the problem. It is the process by which they are enacted that is usually where we run into trouble.

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Oversight Coming to a TARP Near You?

Nov 20, 2008 by Craig Jennings

After $290 billion in TARP funds committed, President Bush and the Senate are just now getting around to installing the TARP Inspector General. Working quickly to confirm Bush's choice for Special Inspector General for TARP (SIGTARP), Neil M.