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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House Supplemental Vote Expected Tonight amid Weary Reversals

May 24, 2007 by Craig Jennings

Weary war opponents in Congress will get to go back home soon, get some rest, and then face what might be a bigger headache than George Bush: the majority of Americans that disapproves of President Bush's decision to veto the first supplemental, which called for complete withdrawal of U.S. soldiers from Iraq by March 31, 2008. The new $120 billion supplemental war spending bill -- stripped of all references to troop withdrawal -- is expected to pass the House this evening after lawmakers made last-minute changes dictated by the White House.

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Why the Rush to Clear the War Appropriations?

May 24, 2007 by Matt Lewis

As regards the war funding bill, Democrats are fatigued. So here's a word of non-partisan strategic advice- take a breather. Relax. Just do nothing for while and see if events on the ground change the politics back home. Anyway, it now seems that Democrats just don't want this fight. From CQ: "The problem is that we have to provide money for the troops, and if we don't, the Democrats will be blamed," added Rep. James P. Moran, D-Va., a war opponent. "Bush has the bully pulpit, so he will define who is responsible."

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Supplemental Update: The Troops on the Hill Weary

May 22, 2007 by Adam Hughes*

A pared-down version of the war funding supplemental is currently scheduled to hit the House floor on Thursday, May 24, with Senate action expected later that day or early the next. The bill appears likely to include the federal minimum wage increase and and extension of about $4.8 billion in small-business tax cuts. Whether domestic emergency appropiations will remain is yet to be determined.

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The Problem With Democracy

May 18, 2007 by Craig Jennings

American Enterprise Institute's Director of Economic Policy Studies Kevin "Dow 36,000" Hasset believes that democracy poses a threat to the economy(emphasis mine): But being unfree may be an economic advantage. Dictatorships are not hamstrung by the preferences of voters for, say, a pervasive welfare state. So the future may look something like the 20th century in reverse. The unfree nations will grow so quickly that they will overwhelm free nations with their economic might. The unfree will see no reason to transition to democracy.

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CBPP On Appropriations Cap

May 17, 2007 by Matt Lewis

CBPP has a very good piece on the new budget resolution's appropriations cap (emph. mine). The Congressional budget plan assumes that funding for non-defense appropriations for 2008 will be increased by $13.5 billion, or 3.1 percent, above the CBO baseline level, which equals the 2007 funding level, adjusted only for inflation. (See Table 1.) President Bush's budget, in contrast, calls for non-defense funding to be cut $9.7 billion, or 2.2 percent below the CBO baseline.

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Some Concrete Costs of the War Debate

May 16, 2007 by Matt Lewis

It's taking a while for Congress and the President to work out their differences over the war funding bill. This wait isn't harming the troops, but it is costing people money. That's because there's a minimum wage raise attached to the war funding bill. It raises it from $5.15 to $5.85 60 days after enactment, and then to $6.15 a year after enactment, and $7.25 after two years.

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Social Programs Are Collateral Damage of the War Funding Debate

Congress and the president have yet to resolve their differences over an emergency spending bill for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Caught in the middle of this fight are high-priority proposals to raise the minimum wage, provide stopgap funding for a children's health insurance program, and restore some cuts for energy assistance. A drawn-out debate over war funding could end up causing unnecessary hardship for people who depend on the passage of these initiatives. War Funding

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New Report on Abusive and Wasteful Contracting Practices

May 11, 2007 by Adam Hughes*

In a new report to be released next Monday, the Center for American Progress details the horrendous state of the federal contracting process. The report examines what is presently known about the potential size and scope of wasteful and corrupt contracting within the federal government, provides the new Congress with useful guidance for developing a broader understanding of the problem, and outlines some steps that might be taken to restore greater transparency and accountability to the use of public funds in the procurement process.

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GAO Scrutinizes IRS's FY 2008 Budget Request

May 11, 2007 by Craig Jennings

Internal Revenue Service is requesting $7.2 billion for enforcement activities in its FY 2008 budget request. Money to pay for initiatives to close the tax gap sounds like a great idea, but how well will the initiatives accomplish this goal? IRS isn't exactly clear on this point in its budget request. From a GAO report released Wednesday:

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Which Way Did the Veto Go? Both Ways!

May 9, 2007 by Dana Chasin

Just so there's no confusion, here are details and status for H.R. 2206 and 2207, the two post-veto Supplemental bills emerging from the House, both facing likely votes this week and potential presidential vetoes thereafter:

H.R. 2206, "The U.S. Troop Readiness, Veterans' Care, Katrina Recovery, and Iraq Accountability Appropriations Act, 2007." Introduced by Rep. David Obey (D-WI), expected to be voted on as early as tomorrow; the president promised today to veto this bill.

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