Ethics Package To Be Considered Piece by Piece

Nov 21, 2006 by Amanda Adams*

It is no secret that House leaders are planning a major ethics reform bill, but the package will be brought to the House floor piecemeal. This will ensure that each important proposal, such as banning gifts from lobbyists, is debated on and receives its own vote. This should also bring about more media attention and hopefully a positive glimpse into how Democrats will act as the majority party.

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Continued Documentation of Antiwar Groups

Nov 21, 2006 by Amanda Adams*

OMB Watch has reported on the Threat and Local Observation Notice (TALON) database before and now the New York Times is revealing that the database continues to hold information on peaceful, antiwar groups, such as simple antiwar planning meetings. TALON is used by the Defense Department to prevent attacks against the military. The head of the office that runs the database, Daniel J. Baur, commented that this information was never intended to be collected and,

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A Cut in Every Program and A Hole in Every Stocking

Nov 21, 2006 by Matt Lewis

Now that a program-slashing continuing resolution is nearly a sure thing, agency administrators (and not advocates or politicians, mind you) are speaking out. From CongressDaily PM ($):

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Punishment for Robo Calls

Nov 21, 2006 by Amanda Adams*

It is no secret that during this past election there was wide spread use of "robo calls". Voters were bombarded throughout the country with repetitive, deceptive calls and now legislators want to act on these misleading campaign methods. The incoming majority leader Harry Reid and other Democratic leaders have serious concerns about these calls and other unethical campaign practices utilized before the election. Rep. John Conyers has called for federal officials to investigate complaints about the calls, possibly resulting in hearings before the House Judiciary Committee. Most notably, Sen.

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Supreme Court May Hear Secret Regulation Case

Several groups are appealing to the U.S. Supreme Court a Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals ruling on a secret Transportation Security Administration (TSA) regulation. The regulation requires airlines to check the identification of passengers. The Ninth Circuit held that, even though the rule is not publicly accessible, it does not violate the Constitution's protection of due process.

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FEC Expands Regulation of Voter Guides

A Nov. 9, 2006 enforcement decision by the Federal Election Commission (FEC) expands federal campaign finance regulation to voter guides that do not endorse or oppose candidates if the FEC determines the guide's overall content implies support or opposition to federal candidates. The case arose from a complaint filed in December 2004 by Edmund A. Hamburger of Pinellas Park, FL, which claimed "the Sierra Club was advocating the election of Senator Kerry to the Presidency of the United States." On Nov. 9, the Sierra Club chose to settle the case and pay a $28,000 civil fine rather than incur further legal expenses, but denied any wrongdoing. The case could discourage future efforts by advocacy organizations to educate voters about candidates' track records.

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Democrats Pledge Ethics Reforms

Two weeks after the election, attention has turned to considering what the results mean for government priorities and the likely impacts on the way Congress operates. Democratic leaders in the House and Senate are working on an agenda for the 110th Congress that includes ethics and lobbying reform proposals as part of their "100 Hours" initiative. As incoming Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) said, "We will start by cleaning up Congress, breaking the link between lobbyists and legislation and commit to pay-as-you-go, no new deficit spending."

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Senate Committee Set to Vote on Dudley for Regulatory Czar

The Senate is likely to vote in December on the nomination of Susan Dudley to be the new regulatory czar, according to Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME). Despite widespread criticism from the public interest community on the nomination, a confirmation hearing in which Dudley evaded disclosing much about her views, and new concerns about a perception of a conflict regarding her husband serving as head of an office that writes environmental regulations, it appears that Collins's committee will move forward with the nomination.

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Same Old Congress, Same Old Budgetary Gridlock: Long-Term CR Likely in December

Congress has made very little progress toward being able to finally adjourn for the year, leaving most of their appropriations work, a set of popular tax breaks, and funding problems in the State Children’s Health Insurance Program still unaddressed. With time running out, Congress will probably pass another extension of a budget-cutting continuing resolution, once again neglecting its duty to enact the annual spending bills.

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Threat of Estate Tax Rollback Finished for 2006

Outgoing Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist (R-TN) admitted last week the Senate was unlikely to pass any permanent reduction to the estate tax in 2006, despite repeated attempts and rhetorical ultimatums from Frist and his allies.

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