The Dangers of Voter Guides in Houses of Worship

Nov 1, 2006 by Amanda Adams*

Americans United for Separation of Church and State released a press release once again advising houses of worship about jeopardizing their tax-exempt status. The notice warns of "religious right" voter guides that may not be nonpartisan. Americans United has reportedly reviewed voter guides and found many to be biased. The group advices houses of worship to take notice if the voter guide was put together by an outside group, as many are 501(c)(4) organizations who may endorse a candidate, but churches may not. The press release cites numerous examples of their findings:

read in full

Public Citizen Asks IRS to Investigate U.S. Chamber of Commerce

Nov 1, 2006 by Amanda Adams*

The New York Times reports that Public Citizen filed a complaint with the IRS based on the assertion that the United States Chamber of Commerce and its affiliate, the Institute for Legal Reform, violated tax laws by failing to report tens of millions of dollars used to influence state and federal elections from 2000 through 2004. Public Citizen sent a letter to the IRS asking for a formal review of the two organizations by the criminal division. The Chamber of Commerce dismissed the claims as politically motivated.

read in full

OMB Watch Staff: Rick Melberth

Rick Melberth: Director, Regulatory Policy

read in full

Maine Groups Wants Supreme Court To Hear BCRA Challenge

Nov 1, 2006 by Amanda Adams*

As reported in September, a lawsuit by the Christian Civic League of Maine (CCLM), challenging the electioneering communications provisions of the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act was dismissed, but now the group is asking the U.S. Supreme Court to hear an appeal. The lower court rejected the challenge because the ad campaign was on legislation that had already been voted on. The group is claiming that BCRA's ban on corporate and union funding of pre-election ads that refer to a federal candidate is unconstitutional, in regards to ads addressing the Marriage Amendment.

read in full

Speculation on Reform in the 110th Congress

Oct 31, 2006 by Dana Chasin

Long before a potential House or Senate majority was a gleam in their eye, Congressional Democrats pledged earlier this year to support certain lobbying and process reforms. Among them: Lobbying
  • a ban on Congressional travel, meal, and gifts financed by lobbyists
  • extension of the lobbying ban for former members of Congress from one to two years
  • extension of this ban to senior Congressional staff
Process
  • a minimum 24-hour review period post conference report before voting on legislation
  • a ban on no-bid government contracts

read in full

A Rising Tide Lifts All ... Yachts

Oct 31, 2006 by Dana Chasin

Shrill election year claims regarding tax policy in a Democratic 110th Congress may be having as muted an effect on voters as credit-taking for the stock market surge and low unemployment. Democrats are no longer talk about rolling back the Bush tax cuts on the wealthy. They are silent about whether or not to extend these cuts, which do not expire for another two years, and say they would push for higher taxes on corporations, particularly oil companies, by eliminating breaks and urging a crackdown on "loopholes," the Wall Street Journal reports.

read in full

Oil Giant Evades Investigation

Oct 31, 2006 by Matt Lewis

The New York Times leads today with a fascinating article about the Interior Department dropping a claim that oil-giant Chevron is underpaying royalties.

read in full

New Everson: We Only Politicize Tax Collection A Little

Oct 30, 2006 by Matt Lewis

About-face! From BNA ($): Political considerations were one of the factors the Internal Revenue Service considered when deciding to delay enforcement actions for Hurricane Katrina victims--but not the main concern, Commissioner Mark Everson said in a news briefing Oct. 27. The upcoming November elections played only a small role in the decision to once again postpone the Oct. 16 deadline for about 1.2 million victims to file their 2005 tax returns, he said.

read in full

Fear Exceeds Faith

Oct 30, 2006 by Amanda Adams*

A story in The New York Times, "Fears of Inquiry Dampen Giving by U.S. Muslims," reports on a disturbing trend that is affecting U.S. Muslim communities and domestic charities. When Najah Bazzy started the charity Zaman International, she deliberately avoided any connection with a religious institution, yet donations have been sparse because of the fear that donating to an Islamic charity brings unwarranted suspicion of ties to terrorism. Importantly, this is not an isolated case.

read in full

Surefire Confusion

Oct 30, 2006 by Amanda Adams*

As the previous entry notes, if voting absentee in Ohio, providing certain identification will not be needed. However, just two days later, a judge ruled that the requirement to show identification to cast an early absentee ballot will be enforced again. With only eight days until the election, we'll see how much more confusion can be created for voters and poll workers.

read in full

Pages

  • ©2015 Center for Effective Government
  • All Rights Reserved.
  • This an archive site of the materials produced by the Center for Effective Government (formerly OMB Watch) and is maintained by the Project On Government Oversight.