Revenue & Spending

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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You're Doing a Heckuva Job, Georgie: Debunking the State of the Union

In his Jan. 31 State of the Union address, President Bush spoke on many issues vital to the country including foreign policy, the economy, and health care. As is often the case in the annual address, the president offered far fewer specifics and suggested fewer solutions than many Americans would have liked to hear. Still, the president did manage to articulate a few specific points, some suggesting policies and others spinning the facts. To follow is a look behind a few of the more misleading statements made by the president in the address.

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Nonprofits Hit Hard by Budget Cuts

Feb 2, 2006 by Guest Blogger

A new analysis by the Aspen Institute finds that discretionary federal spending on programs of interest to nonprofits will fall by 2.8 percent between FY2005 and FY2006 (after adjusting for inflation). Programs of interest to nonprofits are expected to fall by $4.6 billion, while nonprofits themselves are estimated to see losses of roughly $1 billion.

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President Bush Sends Mixed Signals on Energy Research?

Feb 2, 2006 by Adam Hughes*

During his State of the Union address Tuesday night, Presdient Bush proposed to increase clean energy research at the Department of Energy by 22 percent to research, among other things, "cutting-edge methods of producing ethanol." The President certainly has a long way to go to reverse current trends. The New York Times reports today that: The Energy Department will begin laying off researchers at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory in the next week or two because of cuts to its budget.

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Budget Reconciliation Bill Passes: 216-214

Feb 1, 2006 by Guest Blogger

Today the House held their long-awaited vote on the budget reconciliation bill. The vote, we knew, was going to be close. The final count was 216-214. Two Republican members did not vote. All Democratic House members voted no, except for Earl Blumenauer who was out of town.

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One Disconnect Among Many

Feb 1, 2006 by Guest Blogger

In his State of the Union address last night, the President asked Congress to make his 2001 and 2003 taxcuts permanent, and told the American people this would make the economy even stronger. In the very same speech he mentioned efforts to "stay on track to cut the deficit in half by 2009."

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2006 State of the Union

Feb 1, 2006 by Guest Blogger

Last night President Bush delivered his annual State of the Union Address. Check back here later in the day for an analysis on the comments Bush made regarding taxes, the budget, and the economy last night.

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Bernake Confirmed as Chairman of the Federal Reserve

Jan 31, 2006 by Guest Blogger

The Senate confirmed Ben Bernake today as Chairman of the Federal Reserve. He replaces Alan Greenspan, who has stepped down after more than 18 years guiding the nation’s monetary policy. Bernake was confirmed by voice vote.

Washington Post: Federal Reserve Raises Interest Rate; Bernake Confirmed as Next Chairman

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"Where's the Budget Outrage?"

Jan 31, 2006 by Guest Blogger

Where's the Budget Outrage?" is a question asked by columnist E.J. Dionne, Jr. in an op-ed in today's Washington Post. In it he discusses the "cut-the-poor, help-the-big-interests federal budget," and the vote on the budget reconciliation bill that is taking place in the House tomorrow. This op-ed is a good read, especially as we prepare to hear President Bush outline his agenda on budget, tax, and health care issues in tonight's State of the Union.

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Wednesday's Vote on Budget Reconciliation Bill Will be Close

Jan 31, 2006 by Guest Blogger

As the House gears up for tomorrow’s vote on cutting $40 billion in entitlement spending from the budget, the House leadership is less and less confident they will have enough votes to ram these cuts through. Following in the footsteps of Rep. Simmons (R-CT), who recently changed his position on the bill, a number of moderate GOP Representatives are considering voting against the bill as well. These include Reps. Sherwood Boehlert (R-NY), Mike Fitzpatrick (R-PA), John Sweeney (R-NY), and Chris Shays (R-CT).

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Budget Bill Vote on Wed.; CBO Releases Cost Estimate

Jan 30, 2006 by Adam Hughes*

The long-awaited House vote on the Senate-passed budget reconciliation bill is taking place this Wednesday, February 1. The vote is expected to be extremely close, as a handful of moderate Republicans who previously voted for the bill are expected to vote against it this time around.

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