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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Over 700 Groups Tell Senate To Preserve Estate Tax

Jun 2, 2006 by Adam Hughes*

Yesterday, over 700 national, state, and local organizations from every state sent a letter to the Senate urging them to reject attempts to repeal or drastically reduce the estate tax. The wide and varied list - from children's, women's and minority rights advocates to health care groups, from religious and labor organizations to tax policy think tanks and citizen action coalitions - represents the broad diversity and majority of Americans who favor retaining the estate tax.

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Baucus' Estate Tax Reform Plan

Jun 1, 2006 by Guest Blogger

Last week Sen. Max Baucus apparently began circulating a reform plan to counter Sen. Kyl's proposal, which will most likely be offered up next week after a vote on estate tax repeal. Baucus' counteroffer includes a graduated tax rate structure, setting rates at 15, 25, and 35 percent depending on the size of the estate. Baucus' offer, which would likely retain more of the revenue than Kyl's plan, would still likely prove to be insufficient in both keeping the tax code truly progressive and raising enough revenue to fund national priorities.

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Watcher: June 1, 2006

Jun 1, 2006 by Guest Blogger

House Passes Budget, Slips In Increase to Debt Ceiling Immigration Plan Complicates Supplemental Spending Bill House Speeds Through the First of its Spending Bills Who Wins With the Tax Bill? Bush Raises Taxes on Students, Expatriates

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Support Creation of Federal Contracts and Grants Database

May 31, 2006 by Matthew Madia

Last fall, the OpenTheGovernment.org coalition assembled a lengthy list of organizations and individuals, both liberal and conservative, who wrote to President Bush to urge him to put information about how Hurricane Katrina relief funds were being allocated (read the letter). This year, a new effort for increased transparency of federal funds spearheaded by four Senators is making its way through Congress. This effort will make all federal grant and contract information available to the public free of charge in a searchable, downloadable online format.

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House Passes Budget, Slips in Increase to Debt Ceiling

In the very wee hours of May 18, the House finally succeeded in passing its version of the 2007 budget resolution, more than a month too late. Majority Leader John Boehner (R-IA) had repeatedly postponed the vote, because he lacked enough support to pass the bill. The passage of the resolution carries little practical purpose, because the House and Senate are unlikely to have the time or inclination to reconcile the very different versions of the bill, and the House has already moved forward quickly with appropriations.

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Who Wins With The Tax Bill? Bush Raises Taxes On Students, Expatriates

President Bush marked the culmination of a more than 15-month effort to enact new tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans last week when he signed the $70 billion 2005 tax reconciliation bill into law. In order to keep the bill within cost limits despite the give-away to the affluent, the president and Congress enacted tax increases on students saving for college and Americans working abroad.

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Battle Brewing on How to Track Contract and Grant Bucks

Two bills may soon face off in the Senate on how best to provide the public with information on how the government spends taxpayer dollars.

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House Speeds Through the First of its Spending Bills

Immediately following the passage of a House budget resolution last week, the Appropriations Committee (and its relevant subcommittees) got down to business and passed its first four appropriations bills. Although the House is once again off to a blistering pace, the lack of a final budget resolution a jam-packed Senate calendar and a short legislative session, will almost definitely delay appropriations beyond the start of the fiscal year. This situation will surely necessitate continuing resolutions and a lame-duck session after the November elections.

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Immigration Plan Complicates Supplemental Spending Bill

When President Bush recently announced in his address to the nation his immediate plans for immigration reform, he didn't mention how the proposals would be paid for. A few days later, on May 18, he officially requested $1.9 billion from Congress to spend on his border security initiative. Congress will likely approve the president's request as part of the delayed Fiscal year 2006 Supplemental Appropriations bill currently in conference between the House and Senate.

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You Can't Make This Stuff Up...

May 31, 2006 by Adam Hughes*

Yet another reason not to repeal the estate tax comes to us today from the House Government Reform Committee Minority Office. Yesterday, Ranking Member of the committee Henry Waxman (D-CA) released an analysis showing the huge tax windfalls that estate tax repeal would give to the families of the senior executives of six major oil companies - as if they didn't have enough money already.

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