by Craig Jennings, OMB Watch, Jan. 24, 2011
When President Obama delivers the State of the Union address Tuesday, one topic he will likely devote many words to will be the nation’s finances. For months, we’ve heard calls from all sides to “rein in the deficit” – a deficit so massive that, if some politicians are to be believed, it may plunge the nation into another Dark Ages. If Obama echoes these unceasing cries coming from inside the Beltway and sets forth a budget plan designed to meet the needs of Washington politics and not the nation, he could imperil the nascent economic recovery and future growth while stifling public protections, the effectiveness of the federal workforce, and the economic well being of millions of families.
WASHINGTON, March 16, 2011—The Coalition for Sensible Safeguards (CSS) strongly opposes an amendment offered by Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas), entitled "United States Authorization and Sunset Commission Act of 2011." The amendment to S. 493, a reauthorization of parts of the Small Business Act, would create a commission of politicians to review and propose the "abolishment of agencies and programs" of the federal government. Such a sunset commission could dismantle public protections through a process that leaves the American people in the dark.
WASHINGTON, Jan. 6, 2011—Today, OMB Watch released the third and final report in a series on public protections and the Obama administration. The new report, The Obama Approach to Public Protection: The Regulatory Process, finds that although the Obama administration's overall regulatory philosophy is strikingly different from that of the previous administration, promised changes to the federal regulatory process have stalled out.