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

Scrappy Idealists Take on Congress

Jan 29, 2006 by Guest Blogger

Although this is mostly an article about earmarks and "pork", it is an interesting article into the world of the watchdogs.

From the Washington Post: These are dark days for earmarks.

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Tax & Budget Talking Points; New Budget Blog

Jan 27, 2006 by Guest Blogger

The Fair Taxes for All Coalition has released new talking points on Congress' plan to cut the budget and pass new tax cuts. The talking points cover the new deficit projections, the possibility of extending capital gains and dividends cuts, and this year's new tax cuts.

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State-by-State Analysis of Income Inequality

Jan 26, 2006 by Guest Blogger

The Center on Budget and Policy Priorities and the Economic Policy Institute have released a study called "Pulling Apart: A State-by-State Analysis of Income Trends." The study examines income inequality and finds that the gap between the highest-income families and poor and middle-income families grew significantly between the early 1980s and the early 2000s. The study finds that during this time, the incomes of the bottom fifth of families grew more slowly than the incomes of the top fifth of families in 38 states.

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CBO Projects $337 Billion Deficit for 2006

Jan 26, 2006 by Matthew Madia

Today the Congressional Budget Office projected a $337 billion deficit for 2006. The increase over last year's $318 billion recorded deficit is largely attributed to hurricane costs and the introduction of the Medicare prescription drug benefit this month. $337 billion is far less than the Office of Management and Budget's estimate stating that the deficit will exceed $400 billion this year.

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Too Much Recess? Congress Gears Up for a Short Year

Jan 26, 2006 by Adam Hughes*

Despite the plethora of issues Congress will be addressing this legislative year, the leadership has created a compressed election-year schedule, allowing very little time for actual work to be done. Congress will devote 72 days this year to work on legislative business. (Remeber: votes are generally only held Tuesday - Thursday of any given week). They are scheduled to recess for the year on October 6 in order to give lawmakers up for re-election a full month in which to campaign back in their districts.

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Democracy Alive and Well in Connecticut

Jan 25, 2006 by Adam Hughes*

With the President's FY 2007 budget soon to be released, the House must still take one more vote on the FY 2006 budget cuts bill it struggled with for almost all of last year, and some moderate Republicans are starting to break out of the stranglehold of party loyalty. Rep. Rob Simmons (R-CT), who initially voted against the cuts, then voted for them in December, has announced today that he has re-evaluated his position again and will vote against the bill on Feburary 1.

Simmons' office released the following Kerry-esque statement:

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Everson: IRS Will Review Frozen Refund Program

Jan 25, 2006 by Matthew Madia

Yesterday, IRS Commissioner Mark Everson announced that the Questionable Refund Program, which is currently under scrutiny for recent practices, will undergo a review and modification process.

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Watcher: January 25, 2005

Jan 25, 2006 by Guest Blogger

Without Addressing Budget Process, Lobbying Reform Doomed to Fail Still Fewer Heirs Will See Fortunes Taxed in 2006

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Still Fewer Heirs Will See Fortunes Taxed in 2006

On Jan. 1, the value of assets that can pass tax-free from one generation to the next rose from $1.5 million to $2 million (or $4 million per couple), an increase that was scheduled under the Economic Growth and Tax Relief Reconciliation Act (EGTRRA), passed by Congress in 2001. This expansion of tax-free inheritance means an even smaller fraction of a percent of Americans will be subject to the tax in 2006.

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Without Addressing Budget Process, Lobbying Reform Doomed to Fail

Since lobbyist Jack Abramoff pleaded guilty to charges of conspiracy, mail fraud and income tax evasion, Democrats and Republicans have eagerly jumped on the lobbying and ethics reform bandwagon. Amid the flurry of proposals to overhaul Washington's lobbying system, however, one of the primary mechanisms through which lobbyists see their influence pay off--the system of budget earmarks--has been largely ignored.

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