Of Promises and Principles

Jul 23, 2007 by Craig Jennings

Several (well, 62 to be exact) of the 147 congresspeople who signed a letter promising to sustain every presidential spending bill veto are already wavering in their commitments. CQ has an interesting analysis ($) of the four FY 2008 House- approved appropriations bills that have drawn veto threats from the president. Sixty-two of the 147 congresspeople who have pledged to sustain a veto have voted for at least one of the measures. Four of 147 signatories have voted in favor of all four of the bills, while three have voted for three.

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More Hypocrisy in Chiquita Terror Funding Case

Jul 20, 2007 by Kay Guinane

Four months ago Chiquita admitted it paid terrorist groups $1.7 million in protection money over six years to protect its banana-growing operation in dangerous areas of Columbia. And now, EarthRights International, a human rights group, has filed a lawsuit on behalf of at least six alleged victims seeking unspecified monetary damages for the families. An EarthRights spokesman said that if the case is granted class-action status, several thousand relatives could be represented.

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Agency Regulatory Policy Officers

Jul 20, 2007 by Matthew Madia

The White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB) has released the names of each federal agency's regulatory policy officer (RPO). RPOs are not stand alone offices. For example, the RPO at EPA doubles as the Deputy Administrator. OMB had previously only disclosed the office, not the individual name.

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Taxpayer Advocate's Office: Help Us Help U.S.

Jul 20, 2007 by Dana Chasin

The Taxpayer Advocate's office of the IRS released its mid-year report yesterday -- see: Fiscal Year 2008 Objectives report; IRS press release ($). The report's focus is on improving taxpayer services, ensuring that taxpayer rights are protected in the Internal Revenue Service's private debt collection initiative, and making the offer-in-compromise program accessible for taxpayers.

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How Timely: James Madison Center Petition for FEC Rulemaking

Jul 20, 2007 by Amanda Adams*

The Federal Election Commission's (FEC) rulemaking announcement followed a statement that attorney James Bopp, who represented Wisconsin Right to Life (WRTL), filed a petition with the FEC for a rulemaking on behalf of the James Madison Center for Free Speech. The petition asks that the FEC apply the Court's decision in the WRTL case, that the prohibition on "electioneering communications" cannot be constitutionally applied to genuine issue ads. The petition suggests that the rulemaking should be done by directly taking language from the Court's majority opinion.

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Approps Update

Jul 20, 2007 by Craig Jennings

Yesterday evening, the House voted 276-140 to pass the $607 billion ($151.4 billion discretionary ) Labor-HHS-Education spending bill. The president expressed his dismay at raising the level of funding above 2005 levels for the following programs when he issued a veto threat on Tuesday:
  • financial aid for college students
  • the president's own No Child Left Behind education initiative
  • medical research
  • low-income heating assistance
  • funding for children with disabilities
  • health education

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The New Politics of Poverty

Jul 20, 2007 by Matt Lewis

E.J. Dionne on the new consensus on poverty: Quietly, a new anti-poverty consensus -- reflected in the dueling speeches Edwards and Obama gave this week -- is being born.

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Lobbying and Ethics -- a Conference-Free Zone?

Jul 19, 2007 by Dana Chasin

The Congressional Democratic leadership, no doubt exasperated over GOP holds blocking the lobbying and ethics bill from going to conference -- months after overwhelming passage by both houses -- now apparently plans to circumvent the bill's conference process entirely. Said Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV): "I've done everything but get on my knees and beg for [a conference]."

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FEC to Issue Rulemaking

Jul 19, 2007 by Amanda Adams*

The Federal Election Commission (FEC) announced that it will work on a rulemaking given the Supreme Court decision in Wisconsin Right to Life v. FEC. The Court found that the ads in question were genuine issue ads, as opposed to electioneering ads that advocated for the election or defeat of candidates. The FEC plans to issue a proposed regulation in August and request comments with a public hearing in October, and a vote on a final rule by the end of November. If this timeline is kept, a rule will be set for the primaries in early 2008.

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OSHA's Fun with Numbers

Jul 19, 2007 by Matthew Madia

You know how the SATs recently added another section and now it's scored on a scale of 2400 instead of 1600? Subsequently, anyone who took the SATs under the old system seems dumber by comparison. OSHA is applying that logic to occupational health statistics. According the BNA news service (subscription):

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