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Taxonomy: Term ID

GOP Attempt to Intimidate Religious Leader Highlights Broader Problems with Issue Advocacy in Church

On May 9, the Rev. Lisa Doege, of the First Unitarian Church of South Bend, IN, received a phone call from an Indiana State Representative, who warned her that a church program she had planned might threaten her church's tax-exempt status. Representative Luke Messner (R- Shelbyville) warned Doege against an upcoming program on Social Security, raising once more the issue of the role religious institutions have to play in the public sphere and in issue advocacy.

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Expiring Tax Cuts Will Prove Costly to Extend

The scheduled expiration in 2008 of a number of tax cuts put in place during Bush's first term has many Senate GOP tax writers looking to the budget reconciliation process to extend these costly measures. If included in the $70 billion reconciliation package, these tax provisions would be protected from a Senate filibuster, yet would add billions of dollars to the national debt through 2010, the five year window the reconciliation bill would cover.

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Report of Newest U.S. Mad Cow Case Highlights USDA Failures

After seven months of silence, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) confirmed the second U.S. case of mad cow disease on June 24, highlighting the need for more stringent regulatory protections of the nation's beef supply. Seven months before the USDA announcement, government scientists ran a test that indicated that a U.S. cow was infected with mad cow disease. The result of this test was never publicly disclosed. According to the New York Times,

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White House Demands Power to Restructure Government

The White House finally released last week its proposal for legislation granting the Bush administration wide-ranging powers to restructure government programs and force them to plead for their lives every 10 years.

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ET Non-Affect on Farms: NY Times and CBPP Weigh In

Jul 11, 2005 by Adam Hughes*

Sunday's New York Times included an article discussing the findings of the estate tax report released by the CBO last friday. The article notes that the number of farms owing the estate tax when the owners die has fallen by 82 percent since 2000. The number has fallen to 300 farms. The estate tax raised an estimated $23.4 billion last year from the richest 1 percent of Americans. Responsible reform, as opposed to repeal, is necessary in order to ensure this continued source of much-needed revenue. For more information, also see this new Center on Budget and Policy Priorities analysis of the CBO report.

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OMB Watch Wins in Court for Access to Risk Management Data

After almost four years of silence, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) released updated information on Risk Management Plans (RMPs) filed by facilities with large quantities of hazardous chemicals onsite, in order to inform communities about the risks. The agency released the information to OMB Watch after the organization sued EPA for failing to respond to its request filed under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA). OMB Watch has posted the executive summaries of the RMPs on its Right to Know Network website.

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Flaws in Delaware's Open Records Law Keep Information out of Public Hands

Illogical exemptions and poor implementation appear to be preventing Delaware's Freedom on Information Act (FOIA) from fulfilling its purpose to provide the public with access to important government-held health and safety information. Delaware's News Journal conducted an investigation into the function of the state's open records law and found significant problems and loopholes.

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Congressional Report Uncovers Chemical Security Risks Throughout the Country

An analysis prepared for Rep. Edward Markey (D-MA) by the Congressional Research Service (CRS) reveals that chemical plants endanger millions of Americans in every state. The report demonstrates widespread problems with chemical security and highlights the need for a national policy that will reduce these risks.

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Foxes in the henhouse: BLM drilling permits

Jul 11, 2005 by Guest Blogger

"Consultants paid by the oil and gas industry have been volunteering to work for the Bureau of Land Management's Vernal[, Utah] office for the past five months, expediting environmental studies to keep pace with a glut of drilling requests in the region," reports the Salt Lake Tribune. Five consultants paid by the Independent Petroleum Association of Mountain States have volunteered to work through "a backlog of about 400 permits." The Vernal BLM office receives the second-highest number of drilling applications in the country.

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NIH AIDS Division Director Fired Possible Retaliation for Whistleblowing

Dr. Jonathan Fishbein, a National Institutes of Health (NIH) researcher and director of the AIDS research division's Office of Policy in Clinical Research Operations, blew the whistle on poor scientific practices and inappropriate, unprofessional conduct by the department. NIH fired Fishbein on July 1 citing poor job performance, in what some believe to be retaliation. A review report for the NIH director's office confirms many of the issues that Fishbein raised about the agency's AIDS research division, adding to the speculation that his dismissal constituted a retaliatory action.

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Jul 11, 2005 by Adam Hughes*

Jul 11, 2005 by Guest Blogger

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