Earmarks

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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By 245-171, House Adopts Earmark Disclosure Rule

Sep 14, 2006 by Dana Chasin

After intense horse-trading and vote-counting, the House voted 245-171 this afternoon to impose upon itself a "house" rule requiring that a House committee identify the sponsor of each earmark contained in legislation that it reports. The rule will stay on the House books until the current Congress adjourns; it would have to be re-approved de novo to apply to succeeding Congresses.

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Who's Afraid of Dynamic Analysis?

Sep 14, 2006 by Matt Lewis

Douglas Holtz-Eakin, former director of the Congressional Budget Office (CBO), testified at a House Budget Committee hearing on dynamic analysis yesterday. He is a well-respected, center-right economist, and people take his opinion seriously. And he is a fan of dynamic analysis. Lots of progressives worry that dynamic analysis could justify nasty tax cuts with voodoo-supply-side economics. But from a political perspective, dynamic analysis may not be such a bad thing.

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Bolting from Boehner -- Earmarks in the Balance

Sep 14, 2006 by Dana Chasin

The political battle lines remain blurred, so the outcome is unclear, as the House prepares to vote later today on H. Res. 1000, the House's own earmark disclosure rule. As we’ve target="_blank">noted, House Appropriations Chair Jerry Lewis (R-CA) is finding excuses to oppose the proposed rule and may have enough Committee colleague with him to defeat it. “The Appropriations Committee is clearly together,” Lewis said yesterday.

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Now 'Ear This: House Earmark Resolution Draft

Sep 13, 2006 by Dana Chasin

This afternoon, the House Rules Committee released H. Res. 1000, providing for earmarking reform in the U.S. House of Representatives. It hasn’t gone through Committee yet. It won’t have the force of law even if ultimately passes. It will have a shelf life of maybe three months in any case. And it doesn’t inclujde a single of the lobbying restrictions passed by the House earlier this year and now withering in conference.

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Earmark My Word: Boehner Promises House Action This Week

Last Thursday, House Majority Leader John Boehner (R-OH) announced the House will take up legislation as soon as this week to overhaul the process allowing individual lawmakers to slip funding for special projects into large appropriations bills. Earlier this year, Congress seemed sure to address the enormously embarrassing loopholes riddling the nation's lobbying laws and Congress' own lax ethics rules in the aftermath of the Jack Abramoff scandal and the resignation of disgraced former Rep. Randy "Duke" Cunningham (R-CA).

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Trifecta Bill May Resurface in Senate This Month

The fate of the "trifecta" bill and middle-class tax cuts remains uncertain, as GOP leaders send mixed signals about their intentions and the GOP ranks appear restless. In late July, the House passed a so-called "trifecta" package (H.R. 5970) that would roll back estate taxes, increase the minimum wage, and extend several business and other tax credits. Solely because of the inclusion of the estate tax cut, the package failed in the Senate, falling three votes short of the 60 necessary to end debate.

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Congress Squanders Year As Appropriations Remain Unfinished

With the beginning of the new fiscal year less than three weeks away, not one of this year's appropriations bills has been signed into law. The Senate shoulders most of the blame for the standstill, having now passed just two of its 12 appropriations bills. Because there is so little time left, Congress will have to finish up its appropriations work in a lame-duck session after the November election.

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OMB Requires Publication of Budget Justifications

Sep 11, 2006 by Adam Hughes*

You may recall back in July that OMB Watch drafted a joint letter with the National Taxpayers Union that was signed by 54 organizations urging the Senate to require that agency budget justifications be publicly available online. See this post for more information.

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House to Consider Transparency Bill Next Week

Sep 8, 2006 by Matthew Madia

Faster than you can say TGIF, House and Senate negotiators agreed on legislation to increase accountability and transparency by establishing a public database to track federal grants and contracts. Per a press release this afternoon, House Majority Leader John Boehner (R-OH) announced he plans to schedule the agreed-upon language for House floor consideration next week.

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Anticipate Another End Run Around the Budgeting Process for War Funding

Sep 8, 2006 by Craig Jennings

Last night the Senate unanimously passed the Defense appropriations bill. While clocking in at a hefty $470 billion, this appropriations bill is indeed a very large one, but I want to draw your attention to the $50 billion line item for spending on the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

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