Senate Names Tax Reconciliation Conferees

Feb 15, 2006 by Guest Blogger

The Senate leadership appointed three conferees for the upcoming tax reconciliation conference. Here is the full list of conferees: In the Senate: Finance Committee Chairman Charles Grassley (R-IA); Finance Ranking Member Max Baucus (D-MT); Senator Jon Kyl (R-AZ) and In the House: Ways and Means Chairman Bill Thomas (R-CA); Ways and Means Ranking Member Charles Rangel (D-NY); Representative Jim McCrery (R-LA); Representative Dave Camp (R-MI); Representative Pete Stark (D-CA) The eight conferees will work to reconcile the differences between S. 2020 and H.R. 4297.

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Hastert Pushing Lobbying Bill

Feb 15, 2006 by Guest Blogger

House Speaker J. Dennis Hastert on Wednesday gave his fellow Republicans about six weeks to agree upon a plan to overhaul the way lobbyists and members do business. Since newly-elected Majority Leader John Boehner (R-OH) was recently quoted as saying "when we are ready with a bill, we'll introduce a bill", Hastert's news comes as a surprise to some. Reportedly, he has told them to come up with something by the end of March.

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Senate Moves Forward with Bill to Weaken Gov't Accountability!

Feb 15, 2006 by Guest Blogger

The Senate Judiciary Committee has on its schedule for tomorrow a markup of the Lamar Alexander bill that would eviscerate your rights to hold state and local governments accountable for violating federal and constitutional law. Stay tuned for more. Why does the bill matter? Click here for one reason, among many.

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Less Funding for Grants to Religious Groups, Study Shows

Feb 15, 2006 by Guest Blogger

Yesterday a nonpartisan group released a study claiming that the amount of federal grants given to faith-based organizations has declined from 2002 to 2004, as the total amount of funding available for federal grants has decreased over the past three years. The study was conducted by the Roundtable on Religion and Social Welfare Policy. The group examined 28,000 grants made by nine federal agencies over three years. Kay Guinane of OMB Watch was quoted yesterday in a Washington Post article about the study, staying that it:

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Tax Negotiations Expected After President's Day

Feb 15, 2006 by Guest Blogger

The Senate has appointed three conferees to the tax cut negotiations. They are Sens. Charles Grassley (R-IA), Max Baucus (D-MT), and Jon Kyl (R-AZ). The appointment of Kyl, who is an advocate of extending the investment tax cuts, is a sign that the leadership in the Senate supports this as well. Grassley said on Tuesday that the bill will not pass the Senate unless it includes both the alternative minimum tax protection as well as an extension of low rates for capital gains and dividends.

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Democrats Call for Budget Bill Revote

Feb 14, 2006 by Guest Blogger

After internal party debate, Democrats have decided to call for a revote on the budget reconciliation bill which recently passed the House by an extremely close vote of 216-214. The bill ran into trouble when it became known that the President signed a different version than that which was passed by Congress. Because the cuts passed in the bill are so contentious, Democrats have chosen to put the spotlight back on the issue by calling for a revote, as opposed to allowing the fixed bill to pass easily under unanimous-consent agreements.

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Senate Gets Tied Up on the Tax Bill

Feb 14, 2006 by Adam Hughes*

Today on the hill Senate Democrats tied up legislative business by lining up a series of votes on the tax reconcilation bill that caused other Senate business to be postponed or canceled. According to CNN.com, "The battle began when Democrats decided to use a routine procedure that sends the bill into final negotiations to make political points about President Bush's insistence on continuing tax cuts for investors." Republicans then countered these actions by matching the Democrats' motions one-for-one.

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Lobbying Disclosure Act

<p>Click here to download text of the Lobbying Disclosure Act.

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Is Your Organization Subject to the Lobbying Disclosure Act?

<p>Click here for background information, courtesy of NPAction.

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Economic Report of the President Released

Feb 14, 2006 by Guest Blogger

February 13 President Bush issued his 2006 Economic Report to Congress. The eleven chapters cover many issue areas including the workforce, retirement savings, the U.S. tax system, and the financial services sector. The chapter on taxation discussed the U.S. tax system's high corporate tax rate and double taxation of corporate profits. This attention reflects the Bush administration's dedication to extending low investment tax rates.

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