The Examiner reports that a new bipartisan House caucus will be formed specifically committed to issues affecting the nonprofit sector. Representative Robin Hayes (R-NC) will co-chair the first Congressional Philanthropy Caucus, and hopefully an identical group will form in the Senate. This announcement coincided with the Council on Foundations' annual "Foundations on the Hill", an event where grantmakers can meet members of Congress. This appears to be an excellent opportunity where the issues impacting the sector can reach Congress. The blog Inside Philanthropy also responded to this news.

Be sure to check out the latest issue of our biweekly newsletter, The Watcher. Regulatory policy articles this time: Bush Continues Anti-Regulatory Efforts with Industry Nominee to CPSC Scientific Consultant Sparks Controversy over Conflicts of Interest In Congress, No Shortage of Fuel Economy Proposals

War Spending Keeps Climbing, Says CBO A new round of defense and emergency appropriations will raise the total amount of money spent on the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq to nearly $750 billion by the end of FY 2008, according to a recent report by the Congressional Budget Office (CBO). Congress Set to Consider Largest Supplemental Funding Request in History Congress will soon begin work on the largest supplemental funding bill ever requested — $99.6 billion — to continue to fund the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, along with other items.

According to an article in Roll Call today ($), a new earmark request-and-approval regime in the House is giving rise to a culture of confusion for members and lobbyists alike. The regime is proving to be a far more complex and perilous one than in the past, owing to:

• ambiguities in the House rules package on earmarks in several areas, including "multi-Member" funding letters supporting for broad or regional requests (which may now count against the earmark limits of each signatory)