Frist Adamant About Reinsterting Rate Extensions

Nov 16, 2005 by Guest Blogger

Although we do have Sen. Olympia Snowe (R-ME) to thank for successfully pressuring Finance Committee Chair Grassley (R-IA) to remove the cap gains and dividends extensions from the reconciliation tax bill, it appears this victory could be very short-lived.

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Revised Treasury Guidelines for Charities Out Next Wed.

Nov 16, 2005 by Guest Blogger

FYI- Keep your eye out for new developments on the anti-terror financing front. The Treasury Department has said that revised "Anti-Terrorist Financing Guidelines: Voluntary Best Practices for U.S.-based Charities" will be posted on the Treasury Department website by next Wednesday, 11/23.

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Help Get Katrina Contracts Online!

Nov 16, 2005 by Guest Blogger

Join liberal and conservative groups in asking President Bush to put Katrina contracts online! Groups can add their name to our sign-on letter by emailing us. Congress has put $62.3 billion into Hurricane Katrina relief, with billions more expected in help for Gulf Coast recovery efforts. With the federal government spending so much so quickly, opportunities for waste and fraud abound. To help find and stop misuse of taxpayer dollars, Congress, reporters, and the public must be informed of how the dollars are spent.

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Watcher: November 16, 2005

Nov 16, 2005 by Guest Blogger

Senate Finance Committee Struggles With Tax Cuts, Addresses Charitable Giving In Shocking Development, Congress Contemplates Tax Increase Tax Panel Offers "Tough Love" Tax Reform Recommendations

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Finance Committee Passes Tax Bill Minus Tax Rate Extension

Nov 16, 2005 by Guest Blogger

Senate Finance Committee members passed the tax reconciliation bill out of committee yesterday, after stalling for a number of days due to Sen. Olympia Snowe's (R-ME) opposition to the provision extending low tax rates for capital gains and dividends. The $60 billion measure which passed does not include the extensions, which were put in place in 2003 and scheduled to expire in 2008.

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House Approves $56.6 Billion Tax Cut Package; Sets Showdown With Senate

Shortly before midnight on Tuesday, November 14, the House Ways and Means Committee approved a bill of new tax cuts costing $56.6 billion over the next five years (slightly more than the proposed House spending cuts bill). The Ways and Means committee turned back a Democratic alternative and approved the bill on a party line vote, 24 - 15. The House tax cut bill is drastically different than the Senate version, which was approved yesterday afternoon by the Finance Committee.

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In Shocking Development, Congress Contemplates Tax Increase

Congress has been wrestling over the past few weeks with a difficult reality. Due to the rise in oil and gas prices, oil companies are making record-breaking profits. For the last quarter, ExxonMobil, the world's largest oil company, reported soaring profits of almost $10 billion. At the same time, large expected increases in the cost of home heating this winter are threatening to harm millions of low-income Americans in the Northeast and Midwest who depend on already cash-strapped government programs to help pay heating bills.

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Senate Finance Committee Struggles with Tax Cuts, Addresses Charitable Giving

After postponing the markup three times and significantly modifying the contents of the bill, the Senate Finance Committee finally approved its version of the tax cut reconciliation bill Tuesday evening, 14-6. The bill would increase the deficit by a net of $60.2 billion over the next five years. The committee was originally scheduled to markup the bill last Thursday morning, but ran into opposition from Sen. Olympia Snowe (R-ME) to provisions to extend cuts to capital gains and dividend taxes, the heart of the Bush tax cut plan.

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Latest Watcher

Nov 15, 2005 by Guest Blogger

Be sure to check out the latest issue of our biweekly newsletter, The Watcher. Reg policy articles this time: Industry Costs Pitted Against Public Needs in Homeland Security Policy Administration Ignores Scientific Evidence and Pushes Forward with Mountaintop Removal

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PAY-GO Narrowly Defeated in Senate Reconciliation Bill

While the House spent last week fighting to a draw over its spending reconciliation bill, the Senate passed its version the evening of Nov. 3, including a provision that would allow drilling in Alaska's Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. The Senate reconciliation bill cuts $39.1 billion from entitlement programs over a five-year period. While these cuts are not nearly as contentious or damaging to low-income beneficiaries as those being considered on the other side of Capitol Hill, the bill could drastically change during a conference with the House.

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