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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IRS Budget Cut Below Already Insufficient Levels

Dec 18, 2007 by Adam Hughes*

The omnibus appropriations bill passed by the House last night contains 3,500 pages and over $516 billion in spending. Yet with all that space (and money), Congress could not find enough room for even their own priorities from earlier this year for the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). Specifics of the IRS's funding take from the omnibus show the House has included $2.15 billion for taxpayer services, down slightly from the $2.155 proposed earlier this year, $4.78 billion for enforcement (down from $4.93 billion) and $3.68 billion for operations (down from $3.77 billion). What's more, the House has backed away from a requirement for the IRS to develop a strategic plan to address the tax gap. The total IRS budget request ($10.89 billion) is $203 million below even President Bush's request!. What is going on here? So, just to review, despite a year in which congressional hearings revealed that the IRS is underfunded, runs a dangerous and wasteful privatization program, and has no strategic plan for addressing the tax gap, Congress decided to give it less money, allow the privatization program to continue, and let the IRS off the hook for developing a strategic plan. And I wonder why people don't believe in government...

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Despite New Majority in Congress, Fiscal Policy Still Mostly Stuck in Neutral

A new congressional majority in 2007 promised a clean break from past practices of a Congress noted for its corruption, dysfunction and profligacy. It moved on a modest agenda and successfully enacted a few important policies, but overall, it failed to chart a new direction in fiscal policy. This failure was due in large part to the majority underestimating the ability and willingness of a coalition of conservative policymakers and the president to fiercely obstruct even the modest reform policies on the new Congress's agenda.

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$515.7 Billion Omnibus Measure Approved by House

Dec 18, 2007 by Craig Jennings

With two votes, the House voted to approve $484.7 billion in domestic discretionary and emergency spending (253-154) and $31 billion for spending on the conflict in Afghanistan (206-201). The Senate will take up the bill today. It is expected that it will tack on about $40 billion in additional war funding. Unlike the House version, which prohibited any of the $31 billion war supplemental to be spent on operations in Iraq, the Senate's $70 billion war spending measure would fund both wars.

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Bush Says His Version of Spending Compromise Might Not Work

Dec 17, 2007 by Adam Hughes*

President Bush suggested tonight that Congress might want to pass a year-long continuing resolution instead of the compromise bill he forced them to develop. The Hill reports: If the Congress can't get the job done — in other words, those jet fumes'll start to be moving out … pretty soon here, later on this week — if they can't get the job done, then I've got a suggestion for them, and just pass a one-year continuing resolution. Seriously? It seems as though the president has gone off the deep end. Is it 2008 yet?

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Congress Close to Deal on Extension of SCHIP?

Dec 17, 2007 by Adam Hughes*

CQ Today reported ($) this afternoon the Senate is close to a deal on extending SCHIP into 2008. According to the article, a bill is being written to delay cuts taking effect Jan. 1 to Medicare physician pay rates that would include an extension of the SCHIP program. From CQ: The package also is expected to include a funding extension of the State Children's Health Insurance Program, or SCHIP, but it's uncertain for how long. There appeared to be agreement earlier on an extension until 2009, but the Republican aide cautioned that the situation was "fluid." House Democrats have been pushing to extend SCHIP funding until September 2008, in order to force another debate on what they see as a winning political issue. A extension until 2009 would certainly make the legislation more palatable to Republicans, however. SCHIP is set to expire this Friday if Congress does not act to extend it further.

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Dems, Bush Strike a Deal on Budget

Dec 17, 2007 by Craig Jennings

The Democrats struck a deal over the weekend on the 11 remaining appropriations bills, coming close to President Bush's $933 billion total spending cap, but shifting funding within spending accounts to fund more domestic priorities. As a result, $6 billion was moved out of defense, foreign aid, and military construction to fund domestic priorities such as Amtrak, Veteran's programs, medical research, low-income energy assistance, the Commodity Supplemental Food Program, and other important support programs. This compromise seems to be about the best that could be expected. It still will cut some programs after adjusting for inflation and population growth, but it is likely better than a long-term continuing resolution. Wash Post Democrats Tighten Spending in Latest Version of Bill AP: Budget Bill Reverses Bush Cuts NY Times: Democrats, Staying Within Spending Limit, Draft Budget with Domestic Emphasis

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Conservatives Killed The FDA

Dec 14, 2007 by Matt Lewis

Greg Anrig has a great article on how the conservative approach to budgeting and regulation is to blame for FDA's recent troubles. It's possible to read all 300-plus horrifying pages of a new Food and Drug Administration subcommittee report describing the agency's slow asphyxiation by prolonged budgetary constraints without learning who is responsible for its decline.

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Democrats: Listen To EJ Dionne

Dec 14, 2007 by Matt Lewis

EJ Dionne says the biggest thing wrong with the Democrats is that they haven't been good at blaming Republicans for causing legislative gridlock. What's the alternative to internecine Democratic finger-pointing of the sort that made the front page of yesterday's Post? The party's congressional leaders need to do whatever they have to do to put this year behind them. Then they need to stop whining. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid should put aside any ill feelings and use the Christmas break to come up with a joint program for 2008.

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Federal Government Funded for One More Week

Dec 14, 2007 by Craig Jennings

Congress, Thursday evening, passed a one-week continuing resolution (HJ Res 69) that funds operations of the federal government at 2007 levels through next Friday (December 21). Meanwhile, rampant speculation on the shape of an omnibus measure continues.

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A Premature Post-Mortem On The Budget

Dec 13, 2007 by Matt Lewis

Perhaps it's too soon to write a post-mortem on the budget debate. Particularly because the Coalition on Human Needs just put out a good summary of how the Bush cuts would impact people, and since they're asking for advocates to call Congress in support of human needs programs.

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