OMB Requires Publication of Budget Justifications

Sep 11, 2006 by Adam Hughes*

You may recall back in July that OMB Watch drafted a joint letter with the National Taxpayers Union that was signed by 54 organizations urging the Senate to require that agency budget justifications be publicly available online. See this post for more information.

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S. 2590 Update

Sep 11, 2006 by Matthew Madia

The Bush Administration is showing its support for S. 2590. From an Office of Management and Budget press release: Today, OMB Director Rob Portman applauded the Senate for its unanimous approval of S. 2590, the Federal Funding Accountability and Transparency Act of 2006. "Federal funding should be used to achieve measurable results for Americans, and wasteful and ineffective spending should be eliminated. That's why we welcome the Senate's unanimous approval of a bill to increase transparency and accountability. I particularly

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House to Consider Transparency Bill Next Week

Sep 8, 2006 by Matthew Madia

Faster than you can say TGIF, House and Senate negotiators agreed on legislation to increase accountability and transparency by establishing a public database to track federal grants and contracts. Per a press release this afternoon, House Majority Leader John Boehner (R-OH) announced he plans to schedule the agreed-upon language for House floor consideration next week.

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Anticipate Another End Run Around the Budgeting Process for War Funding

Sep 8, 2006 by Craig Jennings

Last night the Senate unanimously passed the Defense appropriations bill. While clocking in at a hefty $470 billion, this appropriations bill is indeed a very large one, but I want to draw your attention to the $50 billion line item for spending on the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

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House Judiciary Favors Religious Compliance

Sep 8, 2006 by Amanda Adams*

CQ reported that HR 2679, the Public Expression of Religion Act of 2005 was approved on September 7th by the House Judiciary Committee. The bill makes suing a government official over public expression of religion very difficult, in that plaintiffs will be responsible for financial damages, costs or lawyer’s fees. This clearly dissuades citizens from bringing about lawsuits that contest popular religiosity. CQ (subscription required)

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Islamic Charity Allowed to Proceed With Lawsuit

Sep 8, 2006 by Amanda Adams*

Yesterday a federal judge in Oregon ruled that national security would not be threatened with the advancement of a lawsuit that challenges the well known Terrorist Surveillance Program. Al-Haramain Islamic Foundation, a charity based in Oregon that distributed religious literature to prison inmates, filed a lawsuit in February claiming that the National Security Administration listened to telephone conversations in 2004 between the group's director in Saudi Arabia and his U.S. lawyers. Judge Garr M.

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IRS Commissioner Everson Pursues Failed Scheme

Sep 8, 2006 by Craig Jennings

To keep you informed of IRS Commissioner Mark Everson's latest antics, we bring you this from American Public Media's Marketplace. Yesterday, they aired a great piece on the outsourcing of IRS collections. The nut of the story is this: The IRS wants to outsource the job of collecting outstanding taxes due and let the collection agency keep a percent of haul.

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A Transparent Effort

Sep 8, 2006 by Matthew Madia

Now that S. 2590, the Federal Funding Accountability and Transparency Act of 2006, has cleared the Senate, it is now time to praise all blogs and watchdogs who helped expose the Senators who had the holds on the bill. In the words of S. 2590 co-sponsor, Bill (Blogmeister) Frist: "I want to thank my colleagues and those in the blogosphere that were working so passionately to get this piece of legislation passed in a timely manner… A tremendous effort from the blogosphere." The Hill named names behind the effort. Let the credits roll:

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Guess What They're Privatizing Now?

Sep 8, 2006 by Matt Lewis

Privatization comes to the...labor department? Several leading women’s organizations, including the Coalition of Labor Union Women, are vigorously protesting the latest scheme by GOP President George W. Bush and his Labor Secretary Elaine Chao to downsize and outsource much of her department’s Women’s Bureau. In an Aug. 1 letter initiated by the National Council of Women’s Organizations and Wider Opportunities for Women, the groups call on Chao to reverse planned budget cuts at the Women’s Bureau and instead give it increased money in the fiscal year that starts Oct. 1.

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Transparency Bill on Federal Grants, Contracts and Spending Passes Senate

Sep 8, 2006 by Kay Guinane

After a full month of secret holds and back-room manuevering, of personal conflicts and idle rhetoric, a bill promoting transparency and disclosure of a vast array of government spending has finally passed one chamber of Congress. Late last night, during a period when all previous secret holds on the bill had been removed, Majority Leader Bill Frist (R-TN) acted quickly and S. 2590 was quickly approved unanimously by the Senate.

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