This afternoon, the House Rules Committee released H. Res. 1000, providing for earmarking reform in the U.S. House of Representatives. It hasn’t gone through Committee yet. It won’t have the force of law even if ultimately passes. It will have a shelf life of maybe three months in any case. And it doesn’t inclujde a single of the lobbying restrictions passed by the House earlier this year and now withering in conference.

Be sure to check out the latest issue of our biweekly newsletter, The Watcher. Reg policy articles this time: Criticism of Draft Risk Assessment Bulletin May Delay Implementation Report Finds Dudley Unfit to Serve

As primary elections are taking place today in nine states including the District of Columbia, voters should pay heed to the various voter identification efforts throughout the country. The LA Times today put out a very helpful and comprehensive story on these cases. The dispute, which is being fought in disparate and often half-empty courtrooms in as many as nine states, concerns new state laws and rules backed primarily by Republicans that require people to show photo identification in order to vote and, in some cases, proof of citizenship and identification when registering to vote.