Gregg on Budgeting: Expect a "Vanilla Year"

Mar 1, 2006 by Guest Blogger

Chairman of the Senate Budget Committee Judd Gregg (R-NH) criticized the President's budget plan yesterday, calling the White House budget practices "irresponsible" and "unrealistic." In an interview with CongressDaily Gregg said Bush has supported massive increases for defense, and has augmented those increases with emergency funding that does not fit within budget caps.

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More on Lobby Reform

Mar 1, 2006 by Guest Blogger

Here is more information on the bill which came out of the Senate Rules Committee yesterday, the Legislative Transparency and Accountability Act of 2006:
  • The bill
  • Bill summary

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No Campaign Finance, Grassroots Disclosure in Rules Markup

Feb 28, 2006 by Guest Blogger

Nothing controversial on the lobbying front came out of a Sen. Rules Cmte markup today. The bill would give any senator the ability to strike offensive “out of scope” provisions through a 60-vote point of order without killing an entire bill, however, it does not address issues outside the jurisdiction of the Rules committee, such as campaign finance law or lobbying law changes. These are expected to be addressed in a markup on Thursday in Sen. Homeland Security and Government Affairs committee. The Hill's take...

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Red Cross To Undergo Independent Audit

Feb 28, 2006 by Guest Blogger

According to the Washington Post, the Red Cross is commissioning an independent audit to identify ways in which it can meet growing demands for assistance, and recommend reforms to the execution of its mission.

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HHS Pulls Funding for Silver Ring Thing

Feb 28, 2006 by Guest Blogger

Following up on a Watcher article we did in Sept., HHS has agreed to settle the lawsuit that was filed against for providing federal funding to a pro-abstinence that did not seperate the message from the religous componets of the program. The case was brought by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU). For a Roundtable article on the decision.

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Rules Committee Markup of Lobby Reform Bill

Feb 28, 2006 by Matthew Madia

This morning the Senate Rules Committee marked up the Lobby Reform Bill, aiming to make the legislative process more transparent. This afternoon there is a hearing on the same subject. A number of amendments were offered during the markup from Senators including Dodd (D-CT), Santorum (R-PA), Feinstein (D-CA), Durbin (D-IL), Inouye (D-HI), and Nelson (D-NE).

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Lobby Reform & Grassroots Lobby Disclosure: Good for Nonprofits

Lobby and ethics reform discussions in Congress could prove to be a significant opportunity to level the current uneven playing field, where wealthy interests have inordinate access to lawmakers and voice in public policy debate. Successful reforms would change this dynamic, giving individuals and groups lacking enormous resources, like most nonprofit organizations, a more equal chance of being heard.

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OSHA Puts Workers at Risk While Biz Blocked Truth

Feb 27, 2006 by Guest Blogger

In the wake of revelations that industry groups withheld from the public research demonstrating the dangers of hexavalent chromium at low levels of exposure -- research that would have buttressed the case for increased protections to reduce worker exposure to the substance, while industry groups aggressively fought against improved regulation -- OSHA is nonetheless poised to publish a final rule that fails to protect workers sufficiently. Click here for more.

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Reg Reform Meets Lochner

Feb 27, 2006 by Guest Blogger

Law professor and Center for Progressive Reform member scholar David Driesen has written a provocative paper comparing the positions of reg "reform" advocates with the anti-government attitudes of the architects of the Lochner era jurisprudence.

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Nonprofit Subject of GOP-Prompted Audit is Cleared

Feb 27, 2006 by Guest Blogger

The following article raises serious questions about the IRS's vetting process of "political intervention" complaints.

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