Giving Up on the Hamilton Project

Jun 13, 2007 by Matt Lewis

The Hamilton Project's new paper on tax reform is a mixed bag. The section on the tax gap is pretty good, and it makes some interesting points about how unpaid taxes seem to make the tax code more regressive. But the section on deficits- which leads the paper, reflecting the Hamiltonian philosophy of fiscal responsibility uber alles- is a disappointment. The paper's authors just don't want to understand what's driving up health care costs. Instead, they sound the familiar refrain about cutting benefits:

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Latest Watcher

Jun 13, 2007 by Matthew Madia

Be sure to check out the latest issue of our biweekly newsletter, The Watcher. Regulatory policy articles this time: Democratic Disarray on Greenhouse Gases May Let Bush off the Hook White House Meets with Industry on Smog Standard Long-delayed EPA Risk Assessment of Endocrine Disruptors Exhibits Flaws

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Watcher: June 12, 2007

Jun 13, 2007 by Matt Lewis

Appropriations Season Kicks Off Congress shifted into full appropriations mode the week of June 4 as both the House and Senate began subcommittee markups of the twelve individual appropriations bills. Congress Still Struggling to Settle Earmark Disclosure Procedures Five months after the House adopted institutional earmark reform rules (H. Res. 6) and the Senate passed statutory requirements governing earmark disclosure (S. 1), confusion reigns in both chambers on how earmark disclosure rules will work and who will administer them.

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Bush to Veto "Irresponsible and Excessive" Homeland Security Bill

Jun 12, 2007 by Dana Chasin

As H.R. 2638, the $36.3 billion Homeland Security bill, headed for debate on the House floor today, it met with a stern veto threat from the administration because "it includes an irresponsible and excessive level of spending." The administration had requested $34.2 billion. During the six fiscal years of the Bush presidency thus far, six years of GOP control of Congress, the national debt has increased by approximately 3 trillion dollars to almost $9 trillion.

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Who Says Obey Must Sign Off on 32,684 Earmarks (besides Obey)?

Jun 12, 2007 by Adam Hughes*

An article in today's Roll Call ($) appears to resolve the central mystery behind Obey's earmarks antics: why in the world must poor Obey himself review each and every one of this year's 32,684 earmark requests, which in turn forces him to wait to include earmarks in spending bills until they are in conference -- after it's too late to remove any earmarks by amendment?

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Charities Object to Treasury's Broad Allegations of Ties to Terrorism

WASHINGTON, June 12, 2007—OMB Watch, Grantmakers Without Borders, the American Civil Liberties Union and several other charitable organizations sent a letter June 8 to Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson objecting to the Department of the Treasury's continued broad allegations of ties between the nonprofit sector and criminal activity associated with terrorism.

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NASA Inspector General Faces Tough Questioning from Congress

On June 7, the Senate and House held a joint hearing to investigate the conduct of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration's (NASA) Inspector General, Robert Cobb. The hearing was conducted by the House Science and Technology Subcommittee on Investigations and Oversight and the Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Subcommittee on Space, Aeronautics and Related Matters.

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Charities Respond to Treasury's Overbroad Allegations of Terrorist Ties

On June 8, charities wrote to the Secretary of the Department of Treasury, Henry Paulson, to express their concern about continuing statements from Treasury that allege charities are a significant source of terrorist financing.

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New Complaints to the IRS about Political Intervention

In late May, news surfaced of an Internal Revenue Service (IRS) inquiry into a Wichita, KS, church, Spirit One Christian Center. Another new complaint, against Bill Keller Ministries, also was made public. Both cases involve statements about candidates that are alleged to indicate opposition to their election.

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Senate Committee Considers Bill to Criminalize Deceptive Election Practices

The Senate Judiciary Committee held a hearing June 7 on a bill that would criminalize deceptive election practices. The Deceptive Practices and Voter Intimidation Act of 2007 (S. 453) is cosponsored by Sens. Barack Obama (D-IL) and Charles Schumer (D-NY). It would make it illegal to purposefully misinform or confuse voters about an upcoming election. The House Judiciary Committee already approved a companion bill (H.R. 1281) in March. The bill, should it become law, would give nonprofit organizations that monitor elections new tools to combat voter suppression and intimidation.

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