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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more news

Sen. Murray on Earmark-Free CR's Impact

Dec 15, 2006 by Matt Lewis

Here's an interesting article on the mixed blessings of an earmark-free funding year. Congressional Democrats will strip all pet-project "earmarks" from the 2007 federal budget early next year to help pay for the war in Iraq, says U.S. Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash. But that move will have a downside for Clark County, she said Wednesday. Murray's address to the Vancouver Rotary Club delivered a stiff dose of fiscal reality.

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OMB Watch Speaks Out On GSA Missteps

Dec 14, 2006 by Matt Lewis

OMB Watch has made a public statement on the General Service Adminstration's (GSA) controversial decision to reduce and outsource oversight over government contracts. To reduce oversight, GSA wants to undercut its accomplished Office of the Inspector General (OIG). The GSA OIG has exposed irresponsible contractors at Abu Ghraib, and did investigations that led to the high-profile conviction of David Safavian, the former GSA chief of staff. So why is GSA trying to have OIG do less investigating? And how is it that manipulating oversight this way is even possible?

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PAYGO and War Costs: A Red-Ink-Herring

Dec 14, 2006 by Dana Chasin

A story in today's New York Times entitled "Democrats Plan to Take Control of Iraq Spending" raises a number of interesting questions about budgeting war costs. How can you put such an unpredictable item as war costs into an annual budget? Should war funding requests go to appropriations or a substantive policy review committee such as armed services? What degree of congressional oversight is appropriate for an emergency supplemental spending request? Reporter Carl Hulse raises one issue, however, that is a complete red-ink-herring:

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OMB Watch Questions GSA's Approach to Accountability

WASHINGTON, Dec. 14, 2006—According to recent news reports, the new administrator of the General Services Administration (GSA), Lurita Doan, has made some questionable decisions that will reduce contractor accountability and oversight at an agency needing much more of both. These decisions to undermine independent oversight and accountability mechanisms in the federal government are unwarranted and unacceptable.

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Katrina Recovery Stagnating?

Dec 14, 2006 by Matt Lewis

The Brookings Institute's Katrina Index, which is still performing the invaluable task of tracking the Gulf Coast recovery, reports today that inadequate public services seem to be slowing down the pace of the recovery in New Orleans. Bad public services have may caused stagnation in the housing market particularly, as former residents have been reluctant to move back to neighborhoods that lack adequate sanitation, electricity, gas and water services.

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Conrad: Forgo PAYGO on Middle-Class Tax Cuts

Dec 13, 2006 by Dana Chasin

Incoming Senate Budget chair Kent Conrad (D-ND) said today that the strictures of PAYGO would not block an extension of middle-class tax breaks such as the child tax credit, which make up about two-thirds of Bush's tax policies expiring in 2011. These extensions "are gonna sail through here even if they're not paid for," he said, adding that PAYGO rules, as currently contemplated, could be waived with a supermajority vote. Conrad also noted that PAYGO would most likely be adopted as a Senate rules change or as part of the budget resolution, because Bush will not sign it into law.

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Change in CR Formula?

Dec 13, 2006 by Matt Lewis

Much about the full-year continuing resolution is still up in the air- even the formula by which all funding will be determined. GovExec has the story. Details about how a yearlong continuing resolution -- or joint resolution, as lawmakers have termed it - - would function began to emerge this week as congressional staff discussed the fallout from the decision to drop the nine unfinished fiscal 2007 spending measures.

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Spring House Cleaning: an Independent Ethics Board?

Dec 13, 2006 by Dana Chasin

The establishment of an independent, outside Office of Public Integrity to review and investigate ethics charges against members of Congress is "definitely on the table," Democratic leadership aide told Congress Daily ($$) today, confirming a report in today's New York Times that "House Democrats are seriously exploring the creation of an independent ethics arm to enforce new rules on travel, lobbying, gifts and other issues."

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A Few Loose Ends

Dec 13, 2006 by Matt Lewis

On Monday, Paul Krugman wrote a good column ($) on government outsourcing. A key point: It's now clear that there's a fundamental error in the antigovernment ideology embraced by today's conservative movement. Conservatives look at the virtues of market competition and leap to the conclusion that private ownership, in itself, is some kind of magic elixir. But there's no reason to assume that a private company hired to perform a public service will do better than people employed directly by the government.

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White House "Disappointed" by CR Announcement, Oddly

Dec 12, 2006 by Dana Chasin

In an ironic and perplexing development today, the Bush Administration expressed dismay with yesterday's decision by incoming Congressional leaders to extend the FY2007 continuing resolution (CR) through the end of the current fiscal year. "The announcement from the incoming congressional majority is disappointing," said OMB Director Rob Portman, adding that “should there be a long-term continuing resolution, the administration would want to assure we maintain fiscal discipline and avoid gimmicks and unwarranted emergency spending.”

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