Economy Posts Solid Job Gains in November

Dec 2, 2005 by Adam Hughes*

The country's businesses added 215,000 jobs in November, according to a report released this morning by the Labor Department. This increase is more than the average monthy gains for the first eight months of 2005 (196,000) and follows two months of disappointingly low gains following the hurricanes along the Gulf Coast.

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New OMB Watch Report on TRI: Dismantling the Public's Right to Know

OMB Watch released a report entitled: "Dismantling the Public's Right to Know: EPA's Systematic Weakening of the Toxic Release Inventory." The report details how under the Bush administration, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is slowly dismantling its flagship environmental information tool: the Toxics Release Inventory (TRI).

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EPA Plans Shield Polluters from Accountability: Statement by Sean Moulton, Senior Policy Analyst

The Environmental Protection Agency could not have sent a clearer message about its priorities as dictated by the White House: corporate interests before public health and safety. On September 21, EPA officials announced plans to roll back our nation's premier tool for citizens seeking information on toxic pollution released into their communities. The agency proposed dramatically reducing industry reporting requirements under its Toxic Release Inventory (TRI) program and plans to cut the program in half by switching to reporting every other year from the current annual program.

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Open Gov meets Right to Know meets Reg Policy

Dec 1, 2005 by Guest Blogger

Here at OMB Watch, we have separate programs for open government, the public's right to know about industry harms (although we stick to environmental right to know), and regulatory policy. Every now and then, an issue comes along that hits all those areas at once.

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Moderate Republicans Will Stand Up Against Budget Cuts

Dec 1, 2005 by Adam Hughes*

Sen. Gordon Smith (R-OR) said yesterday he will vote against a massive budget bill being considered in Congress if it includes cuts in the Medicaid and food stamp programs. Smith has taken moderate approaches to budget bills before. Last April he led a small group of Republicans in resisting Medicaid cuts in the budget resolution.

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Conservatives' Misgivings Could Complicate Negotiations

Nov 30, 2005 by Guest Blogger

The House will get to work on the tax reconciliation bill when they return to D.C. the week of December 5. Vast differences between the House and Senate versions of the tax bill already threaten to impede conference negotiators, and in what promises to further complicate the situation, House GOP members appear to be split over providing excessive tax breaks to businesses in the Gulf Coast.

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Priority Check: Congressman Donates Pay Raise

Nov 30, 2005 by Guest Blogger

Rep. Jim Matheson (D-UT) is giving away the annual pay raise he received to charity today. The Transportation/Treasury/HUD appropriations bill raised Congress' pay by $3,100 this year.

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Court Rules in Favor of Mountaintop Mining

Nov 30, 2005 by Guest Blogger

Update on mountaintop removal: The use of a streamlined, general permit for mountaintop mining was reinstated by an appeals court on Nov. 22, vacating a lower court decision to bar the use of a general permit for 11 coal mining projects in West Virginia. The three-judge panel concluded that the Army Corps of Engineers had complied with the Clean Water Act in issuing the general permit. The streamlined general permit requires far less scrutiny of environmental impacts than an individual permit.

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Waiver to File Returns Electronically

Nov 30, 2005 by Guest Blogger

The IRS has issued guidance on how exempt organizations that are required to file certain returns electronically may obtain waivers of those requirements. Complete details are available on the IRS website.

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IRS Working To Finish 2004 Fast-Tracked Political Interventi

Nov 30, 2005 by Guest Blogger

From today's BNA:

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