Tax Panel Offers "Tough Love" Tax Reform Recommendations

On November 1, the President's Advisory Panel on Tax Reform submitted its report to Treasury Secretary John Snow recommending ways to make the tax code simpler, fairer, and more pro-growth. The panel has been working on these recommendations since January, when President Bush issued an executive order establishing it.

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Infrastructure Protection Plan Fast-tracked Right Past the Public

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) released a Nov. 2 draft of its National Infrastructure Protection Plan (NIPP) and only provided a two-week window for requesting a copy of the plan and a 30-day public comment period. According to its authors, the report offers a "comprehensive, integrated national plan for the protection of critical infrastructures and key resources." Yet, the time constraints on viewing and commenting on it do not allow for substantive public review or response.

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New CFC Rule Does Not Mandate List Checking or Compliance with Treasury Guidelines

On November 7, the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) withdrew a regulation that required all nonprofits participating in the Combined Federal Campaign (CFC), the federal government's workplace charitable giving program, to screen employees and donation recipients for possible terrorist ties. The new final rule, which applies to 2006 CFC applicants, requires participating charities instead to certify that they are in compliance with existing anti-terrorist financing laws.

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House Rejects Bi-Partisan Effort to Shield Internet from Campaign Finance Laws

In a surprising vote, the House rejected a bipartisan effort to shield online communications from the strictures of campaign finance reform laws.

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American Voters Are Rejecting Conservative Ideology On Taxes

Nov 15, 2005 by Guest Blogger

As of late, American voters seem more concerned with having revenue to invest in national priorities than in giving it away in the form of costly and regressive tax cuts. In recent elections, voters in California, Colorado, and Washington state rejected ballot measures that would have rolled back tax increases or limited state spending. Many believe that after September 11 and the Gulf Coast hurricanes, more Americans are starting to see the value of a strong government infrastructure which can adequately respond to public needs by providing safety and various other services.

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Open Government at Stake in Patriot Act Negotiations

Lawmakers in the House and Senate began negotiations last week on renewing 16 provisions of the USA PATRIOT Act, set to expire this year. Several important differences exist between the House and Senate bills that affect the government's transparency in its exercise of powers to clandestinely search, seize, and collect information. How these differences are resolved will have broad implications for civil liberties and government surveillance powers.

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A Test of the Integrity of Moderate Republicans

The upcoming vote in the House over "mandatory spending" cuts is being hailed as one of the most important votes this year -- as it rightly should be. The vote will indicate as much about the direction our country is headed as it will about Congress' spending priorities. And the outcome is likely to be shaped by the courage and integrity of moderate Republicans.

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Groups Build Support for the Toxics Release Inventory

The many public interest groups that oppose EPA's recent proposals to gut the Toxics Release Inventory (TRI) are now working in concert to produce materials and resources that support the environmental right-to-know program. OMB Watch is hosting an Online Resource Center, developed with participating organizations to act as a clearinghouse for concerned groups and individuals to learn about the program and to take action to defend it.

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Oral Arguments Held in Case Challenging Advocacy Restrictions on Legal Services Programs

Litigation challenging the constitutionality of limitations on the advocacy rights of government-funded nonprofit legal services groups advanced recently with oral arguments before a federal appeals court. On Nov. 2, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit heard oral argument in Velazquez v. Legal Services Corporation (LSC), a lawsuit brought on behalf of a coalition of lawyers, indigent clients and New York City officeholders, arguing the government has no business regulating the privately funded, constitutionally protected activities of legal service programs.

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IRS Audits Church for Anti-War Sermon

The pastor of All Saints Episcopal Church in Pasadena, CA announced earlier this week that the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) is conducting a formal examination of the church's tax-exempt status, due to an anti-war, anti-poverty sermon delivered two days before the 2004 presidential election. Conservative and liberal religious organizations alike have criticized the IRS action, which they see as further evidence of an emerging trend -- beginning with last year's audit of the NAACP -- to treat criticism of incumbents on issues as partisan electoral activity.

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