Federal Budget Policy

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...

read in full

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...

read in full

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...

read in full

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...

read in full

more news

Economy Slows to 0.6% Growth Rate at End of 2007

Jan 30, 2008 by Craig Jennings

With the voluminous debate in Washington about the appropriate contours of a economic stimulus package, it should be mentioned (as it occasionally is) that a recession is not necessarily a lock. It's possible that such a package may not be needed. That possibility, however, appears to have narrowed significantly, as the Bureau of Economic Analysis has announced that fourth quarter GDP growth for 2007 was a molasses-in-December slow 0.6%. In the third quarter of last year, GDP grew at a brisk 4.9%. For all of 2007, the economy grew at a 2.2% pace. In 2006, GDP growth was 2.9%.

read in full

Infrastructure Begins in Washington

Jan 29, 2008 by Craig Jennings

Bob Herbert's column in the NY Times today elevates an important issue that has been swirling under the radar the last few years in Washington and around the country but has not garnered enough attention - lack of infrastructure investment. Herbert highlights the work of Sens. Chris Dodd (D-CT) and Chuck Hagel (R-NE) to create a national infrastructure bank that would identify, evaluate, and help finance large-scale, long-term infrastructure projects across the country to rebuild and strengthen roads, bridges, levees, transit systems, water treatment facilities, schools, hospitals, electrical grids, and other key infrastructure sectors. Dodd and Hagel are hoping to create a sense of urgency to address the growing infrastructure problems faced by the U.S., framing this as an economic issue as much as a quality of life concern. The need is certainly clear. From Herbert's column: The need for investment on a large scale — and for the long term — is undeniable. According to the American Society of Civil Engineers, in a study that should have gotten much more attention when it was released in 2005, it would take more than a trillion and a half dollars over a five-year period to bring the U.S. infrastructure into reasonably decent shape. ... As things stand now, the American infrastructure is incapable of meeting the competitive demands of the globalized 21st-century economy. Senator Hagel noted that ports are overwhelmed by the ever-expanding volume of international trade. Rail lines are overloaded. Highways are clogged. Herbert's well-reasoned column reminded me of another commentary from the Times editorial board last week entitled "Charity Begins in Washington." This editorial argued there are many aspects of our society - namely social needs - that demand government investment and cannot be left to private philanthropy. Dodd and Hagel have certainly made a strong case that infrastructure projects also warrant considerable and sustained federal investment. Read more about the Dodd-Hagel National Infrastructure Bank Act of 2007. Bill summary and letters of support

read in full

State of the Union, Pt. 1 -- Editorial Reax

Jan 29, 2008 by Dana Chasin

Below are excerpts of editorial responses to the president's State of the Union address last night, with a focus on economic and fiscal issues, drawn from some of the nation's leading print and electronic publications... Daniel Gross, in Slate:

read in full

Open-Gov Questions Candidates are Afraid We'll Ask

Jan 29, 2008 by Adam Hughes*

Elections are the time when politicians pay the most attention to people and issues, and therefore the best time to ask them questions about how they plan to govern. OMB Watch wants your help in figuring out the best questions on government transparency that can be put to the candidates. Take just a few minutes to answer our survey and vote on your five favorite questions on the issue of government transparency and openness. We will then share the top questions with the news media and other organizations that have direct contact with candidates. Government openness affects every issue from budget and taxes, to the regulatory process, to non-profit advocacy. The range of questions tries to reflect this breadth so check them and see which are most important to you. Take the Open Government: What We Need To Know Survey today.

read in full

Projections of State Budget Shortfalls Deteriorate

Jan 29, 2008 by Craig Jennings

The Center on Budget and Policy Priorities released an update to their analysis last week, which now shows more than half of the states are facing a budget crunch in 2009. As we've commented, this isn't good news, as state budgets are far less flexible than the federal budget and usually are legally prohibited from running a deficit. From the CBPP update: More than half of states anticipate budget problems, according to this updated analysis of state fiscal conditions.

19 states now project budget gaps for 2009. New Hampshire, Ohio and Wisconsin have joined this list since our last update
The combined budget shortfall for these 19 states in 2009 is now at least $32 billion.
6 states now say they will have 2009 deficits, but have released no further information.
3 other states project budget gaps for 2010 and beyond.

CBPP: 19 STATES FACE TOTAL BUDGET SHORTFALL OF AT LEAST $32 BILLION IN 2009

read in full

Tell the Senate Finance Committee Its New Rules Don't Go Far Enough

Jan 28, 2008 by Craig Jennings

The Senate Finance Committee is considering new rules on Wednesday (Jan. 30) to increase transparency of the committee's meetings. While the proposed changes are a welcome step toward openness and transparency, the draft rules contain several serious problems. We need to give the committee quick feedback on these problems and get them fixed before Wednesday's markup. Most notable are the following three problems:

read in full

Poor Contractor Performance Hampers Government

Jan 24, 2008 by Adam Hughes*

The past few weeks have seen a flurry of stories about the ineffectiveness of government contractors government mismanagement. While I'd like to go into detail on each one (they are definitely worth a closer look), the stories are starting to pile up. Instead, a summary round-up of some of the contracting screw-ups that appeared so far in 2008. ** The Washington Times reported today that an investigation that lead to the conviction of a former GSA procurement official (Dessie Ruth Nelson) and two top executives at a private security company (Holiday International Security, Inc.) is being widened to include other "unrelated contractors" who may have bribed Nelson or other procurement officials. Nelson pleaded guilty in early January to accepting over $100,000 in bribes in exchange for steering contracts to the private security firm founded by Michael Holiday. Nelson received, among other things, a shopping bag filled with $35,000 in cash, an envelope containing $10,000, and a $7,000 Caribbean cruise. ** The House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform released a report on Jan. 11 that found a web site created for the Transportation Security Administration to address grievances from travelers incorrectly flagged by the government's no-fly list was poorly constructed and vulnerable to hackers. The report, covered in the Washington Post, Government Executive Magazine, and other tech blogs, concluded that cronyism and a lack of oversight exposed thousands of site visitors to identity theft. In this case, the contract was awarded without competition and the TSA official in charge of the contract was a former employee and good friend of the CEO of the contractor. ** Federal Times reports today that the top official at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration is alleging that "poor contractor performance is delaying a new satellite that will monitor global environmental conditions." The contract in question was given to Raytheon (FedSpending Profile) and Northrop Grumman (FedSpending Profile), which have been slow to solve problems with a key instrument for the National Polar Orbiting Environmental Satellite System (NPOESS). ** Finally, the Washington Post also has an article today about a recent Government Accountability Office report that found a defense contractor hired to repair combat equipment "routinely failed to do the job right and then charged the government millions of dollars for the extra work," according to the WP. The contractor, ITT Industries (FedSpending Profile) apparently received $4.2 million for additional labor, according to the GAO report.

read in full

House Tries, Fails at SCHIP Expansion Veto Override

Jan 23, 2008 by Craig Jennings

The Republican War on Children's Health continues($). The House failed Wednesday to override President Bush's second veto of a children's health insurance bill, again confounding Democrats' plans to expand government-sponsored health coverage to include an additional four million low-income kids.

read in full

Workers Threatened by Decline in OSHA Budget, Enforcement Activity

The consolidated appropriations bill passed by Congress and signed by President Bush in December 2007 cuts the budget of the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) for Fiscal Year 2008. OSHA, like many other federal agencies, already faces budget constraints that make it more difficult for the agency to achieve its mission. Over the past three decades, OSHA's budget, staffing levels, and inspection activity have dropped while the American workforce has grown and new hazards have emerged.

read in full

Economic Stimulus Package Update

Jan 23, 2008 by Craig Jennings

Bush, Congress nearing accord, as Administration cedes some ground to Democrats House Speaker Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-CA), Senate Majority Leader Sen. Harry Reid (D-NV), and Congressional Republican leadership met with President Bush last night to discuss the broad outlines of an economic stimulus package. Bush came out of the meeting with a "very positive feeling" while Pelosi was "confident" that a bipartisan agreement could be reached. So, here's what the package is shaping up to be so far - these are the boundaries that will most likely contain the package.