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

State Budget Problems Cause Economic Hardship

Jul 11, 2008 by Craig Jennings

The Center on Budget and Policy Priorities has once again released an analysis of state government budget health, and the news continues to deteriorate. In their lastest analysis, they rank all 50 states according to changes in three main economic indicators - employment, poverty, and housing foreclosures. The report finds:

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Competiting Claims on Our Fiscal Future

Jul 11, 2008 by Adam Hughes*

The Center on Budget and Policy Priorities has released a report from leading economists and budget experts criticing a recent paper from the Brookings Institute and the Heritage Foundation called "Taking Back Our Fiscal Future." From the CBPP

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Bloch Deputy Resigns in Protest

Jul 11, 2008 by Craig Jennings

NPR is reporting that Office of Special Counsel Deputy James Byrne resigned Thursday in protest over the way the OSC has been managed by its embattled chief Scott Bloch.

Byrne sent a message to office employees, saying, "I am grateful for the opportunities I have been afforded during my time at OSC." Sources close to Byrne describe this as a resignation in protest ov

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Future of FY 2009 Appropriations Bills in Doubt

Jul 10, 2008 by Adam Hughes*

Things just keep getting worse and worse for the FY 2009 appropriations bills. First, House Appropriations Committee members get all hot and bothered with each other and refuse to continue to work on appropriations bills. Then, House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-MD) casts doubt that any appropriations bills will be passed by the House this year. And now, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) has speculated he believes Congress won't enact any bills until long after President Bush starts working on his presidential library. The Hill reported today that Reid

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Questionable KBR Contract Oversight Practices Detailed in Senate DPC Hearing

Jul 10, 2008 by Craig Jennings

The Democratic Policy Committee held a hearing in which Charles M. Smith discussed the circumstances under which he was removed from his position as head of the Field Support Contracting Division of the Army Field Support Command. As the official in charge of overseeing a multi billion contract with KBR, he refused to sign off on some $1 billion in unsubstantiated charges by the contracting firm, and as a result, the Army reassigned him to a different post.

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New TPC Analysis of AMT Legislation

Jul 9, 2008 by Craig Jennings

The Tax Policy Center has published a distributional analysis of the recently House-passed Alternative Minimum Tax legislation (H.R. 6275). The TPC has produced distributional estimates for H.R. 6275, the alternative minimum tax (AMT) patch legislation passed by the House on June 25, 2008. In addition, we have updated our estimates of the number of AMT taxpayers, AMT revenue, and the distribution of AMT liability. Finally, we have published an updated list of 12 key facts and projections about the AMT. Read the TPC Analysis

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Politics as Usual

Jul 9, 2008 by Adam Hughes*

The Hill reports today about some border-line shady behavior from Rep. Paul Kanjorski (D-PA) related to his earmark requests in the 2005 transportation bill. Turns out the earmark request Kanjorski submitted to build a parking garage at, of all places, the Kanjorski Cetner (pictured above) did not meet federal guidelines.

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Approps Update: Senate Back to Work

Jul 8, 2008 by Craig Jennings

The Senate Energy-Water Appropriations Subcommittee has approved its version of the FY 2009 Energy-Water funding bill. The $33.2 billion measure would provide $1.9 billion more than President Bush's request to the Department of Energy, Bureau of Reclamation, and the Army Corps of Engineers.

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OMB Releases FY 2008 Earmarks Data

Jul 8, 2008 by Craig Jennings

OMB has released additional data on federal earmarks contained in the FY 2008 appropriations bills yesterday. The data is available at www.earmarks.gov. I have to continue to applaud OMB for publishing information online about federal spending in this earmark database. They have continued to improve the interface of the earmarks database and list earmark by agency, by state, and they now provide a summary of earmarks totaled up by appropriations subcommittee - a great addition. You can also do a keyword search across all the data they post.

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DPC Hearing on Iraq Contracting This Week

Jul 8, 2008 by Craig Jennings

The Democratic Policy Committee is holding a pair of hearings this week to examine contractor practices in Iraq.

Safeguarding Taxpayer Dollars in Iraq: An Insider's View of Questionable Contracting Practices by KBR and the Pentagon Wednesday, July 9, 2008 2:00 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. 608 Dirksen Senate Office Building
Contractor Misconduct and the Electrocution Deaths of American Soldiers in Iraq Friday, July 11, 2008 10:00 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. 226 Dirksen Senate Office Building

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