Nuclear Commission Restores Portions of Online Library

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) restored portions of its online reading room earlier this month shortly after security concerns prompted the agency to block public access. Only selected documents have been restored, although NRC asserts that the majority will be accessible within several weeks.

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Florida, Nevada Vote to Raise Minimum Wage by $1

Although both states went to President Bush on Nov. 2, voters in Florida and Nevada approved state initiatives significantly raising the minimum wage by one whole dollar.

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Opposition Seen on Second Term Tax, Social Security Goals

With the election two weeks behind us, attention has shifted to what this administration plans to do in its second term. President Bush has specifically cited two major objectives: to make his tax cuts permanent, and to make significant changes in both the federal tax code and Social Security.

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Lame-Duck Work Begins This Week

Today, Nov. 16, the 535 members of the 108th Congress reconvened to begin a post-election lame-duck session and complete their unfinished business. Their goal is to keep the session short and productive, yet this may be difficult as Republican leaders have failed to reach an agreement with the White House on a package that could bring the fiscal 2005 appropriations process to a quick conclusion.

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Safeguards at risk from Bush judicial nominees

Nov 14, 2004 by Guest Blogger

For another good look at the across-the-board threat to public safeguards from judges hostile to Congress's power to offer national solutions to national needs, check out Jeffrey Rosen's N.Y. Times piece reiterating observations from an earlier New Republic article.

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Industry influence with distorted safety message?

Nov 14, 2004 by Guest Blogger

Public interest groups often use the phrase "astro-turf" to refer to fake, industry-funded pseudo-grassroots groups that dress themselves up as legitimate public interest groups but parrot industry messages. The New York Times is reporting today on a nonprofit group called "Operation Lifesaver" which has many ties to the rail industry and has a railroad safety message that -- surprise!

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OMB Watch Press Statement on Lawsuit Against the Combined Federal Campaign

Statement of Kay Guinane, Counsel and Manager of OMB Watch Nonprofit Advocacy Project, Nov. 10, 2004 OMB Watch has been promoting government accountability and civic participation for over 20 years. We believe nonprofits, like groups that receive donations from federal employees through the Combined Federal Campaign, have a vital place in communities and play a powerful role in reinforcing our democratic principles. We believe CFC's list checking policy is unreasonable and will not make America safer.

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NAS moves in right direction

Nov 12, 2004 by Guest Blogger

The NAS, which has an unfortunate track record of stacking advisory panels with scientists whose pockets are fat with industry funding, has moved in the right direction by offing two industry-tainted panelists from its committee to study coal combustion wastes. Two down... but there are still four more to go!

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Nanofunding, nano-effort

Nov 12, 2004 by Guest Blogger

Today's Washington Post reports that EPA is awarding $4 million in grants to study the health and environmental effects of nanomaterials, the tinier than tiny materials that form the basis of nanotechnology. The nanomaterials pose serious risks: Measuring three-billionths of an inch or less, they are small enough to enter the lungs and perhaps even be absorbed through the skin. Experiments in animals have shown that once in the body, they can travel to the brain and other organs. So, the EPA's grants mean that it's doing enough, right?

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FDA Strikes Again: Another Scientist Suppressed

Nov 12, 2004 by Guest Blogger

The Wall Street Journal reported today that Dr. Curt D. Furberg, a professor at Wake Forest University, was booted from an FDA committee to review the safety of the Cox-2 inhibitors after he made public statements questioning the safety of Bextra, a Cox-2 inhibitor painkiller produced by Pfizer, Inc. Vioxx, another Cox-2 inhibitor, was recently pulled from the market after it was found to increase the chance of heart-attack or stroke. Furberg, a leading expert on drug analysis, told the New York Times that he believed Bextra appeared to be similar to Vioxx.

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