Justice Department Opposes D.C. Anti-Terrorist Measures

On Feb. 25, the U.S. Department of Justice joined the rail company CSX in litigation to derail a new Washington, DC, law which bans hazardous cargo shipments through the district. In a brief filed with the Federal District Court, DOJ asserts that hazardous chemical shipments are part of interstate commerce and therefore may only be regulated by federal law.

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Arizona Looks to Strengthen Freedom of Information

Arizona State Sen. Dean Martin (R-Phoenix) introduced two bills on Feb. 1 that would make it easier for Arizonans to access state-held information. The first bill, S.B. 1499, would create a state funded ’public access counselor’ to provide expert advice to citizens and state officials regarding requests for state-held information. The second bill, S.B. 1498, would make it illegal for state agencies to sue a person or group simply because they requested information.

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White House Cuts Entire Chapter from Economic Report

The National Security Council (NSC) had an entire chapter on Iraq’s economy deleted from the “Economic Report of the President” simply because it would interfere with the positive tone of the rest of the report. The report is produced annually by the Council of Economic Advisers (CEA), a supposedly independent advisory entity. The unprecedented move is yet another example of the Bush administration’s willingness to manipulate expert and scientific information for political reasons.

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House Hearing Finds Too Much Secrecy, Seeks Fixes

A member of the 9/11 Commission and a former translator for the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) warned House members that too much government secrecy today threatens the country’s ability to keep the nation safe. The comments were made during a House hearing March 2 that focused on the widespread breakdown of the system to help government keep only necessary secrets in a democratic political system.

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Congress Rejects Competing Minimum Wage Amendments

On March 7, the Senate voted to kill two amendments to increase the minimum wage attached to the bankruptcy bill (S. 256). One offered by Sen. Ted Kennedy (D-MA), to raise the minimum wage from $5.15 to $7.25 per hour over two years, lost in a close 46–49 vote. The second, proposed by Sen. Rick Santorum (R-PA), and opposed by progressive groups, was soundly rejected 38–61. Santorum's amendment would have raised the minimum wage by $1.10 over two years to $6.25. Neither got the 60 votes needed to pass.

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Federal Spending Cuts, Caps to Hurt States Facing Own Deficits

This week, the House and Senate budget committees are scheduled to mark up their budget resolutions, and spending caps proposed for the next five years, would hurt many states. President Bush sees these budget spending caps as key to reducing the deficit and overall spending by the federal government — but they will do little to reduce the deficit.

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Congressional Leaders Begin Negotiations on Budget Resolution

With the proposed markup date for the budget resolution set for March 9, behind the scenes negotiation involving the budget committee chairmen and members of Congress was in full swing last week and through the weekend. Senate Budget Chairman Judd Gregg (R-NH) and House Budget Chairman Jim Nussle (R-IA) have spent the last few weeks soliciting input from members. While details are still vague, there are some initial indications of the shape and scope of the resolution.

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Social Security Debate Takes Dramatic Shift

In a dramatic shift in how the administration has approached overhauling Social Security, Treasury Secretary John Snow stated March 2 the administration is open to considering proposals that would create government-subsidized personal savings accounts outside the existing Social Security system or through means other than a diversion of funds from an individuals’ payroll tax. This announcement comes amid speculation that the president’s plan for Social Security reform may be less attainable than he and GOP congressional leaders would like to admit.

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Bush Budget to Increase Deficits $1.6 Trillion over 10 Years

The Congressional Budget Office released its estimates March 5 for the cost of President Bush’s fiscal year 2006 budget, showing deficits increasing by $1.6 trillion over the next 10 years. The CBO report will greatly impact the way the House and Senate budget committees write their FY 06 budget resolutions set for markup this week.

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Tax Cuts Will Not Slash Deficits

Last friday the CBO released their report saying the President's proposal to cut entitlement spending will actually save $11 billion less than the White House had initially projected. On top of this, according to today's CQ update, congressional budget writers are planning to include the estimated costs of Iraq and Afghanistan operations as well as a one year extension of Alternative Minimum Tax relief in the budget. This is significant because the White House ignored each of these items in their budget propsal. Keeping these expenses -- as well as a deficit reduction goal -- in mind means the five-year tax cut figure in the budget resolution will likely have to decrease from what was originally envisioned by Bush and Congressional GOP leaders. Budget writers are realizing that these expenses, along with expensive tax cuts, will not achieve deficit reduction. Congressional aides are saying the tax cut amount may decrease from $100 billion to about $70 billion. There will be further updates later this week as the House and Senate budget committees mark-up the budget resolutions on wednesday and thursday.

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