Press Room

Organizations Urge Senate to Save the Estate Tax and Reject Dangerous "Compromise" Proposals

Washington, DC -- July 26, 2005 -- So-called "compromise" proposals on the estate tax offered by Senate Republicans would be just as damaging to the economy and the charitable sector as full repeal, according to a letter sent today to members of the U.S. Senate by a coalition representing 20,000 organizations with roughly 20 million members across the country. Realizing they lack the 60 votes necessary to avoid a filibuster in the Senate, some in the pro-repeal camp are now calling for compromises that would be tantamount to repeal. The coalition urged senators to

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Reject White House Interference in Agency Rulemaking, OMB Watch Tells Court

The White House improperly forced the Environmental Protection Agency to put aquatic wildlife at risk at the behest of corporate special interests, OMB Watch told a federal court today.

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Press Release: Right-To-Know Advocates Win Battle for Access to Chemical Security Data

Washington, DC -- July 12, 2005 -- The non-profit research organization OMB Watch posted updated information on the public risks posed by over 18,000 U.S. chemical facilities on its Right-to-Know Network (RTK NET) website for the first time since the 9/11 terrorist attacks. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) removed the Risk Management Plan (RMP) database, designed to provide communities and individuals with information on chemical facilities, from its website in October 2001. The RMP data is available at www.rtknet.org/rmp/.

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White House Power Grab Puts Public at Risk

Statement of Robert Shull, Director of Regulatory Policy & Adam Hughes, Budget Policy Analyst
The White House submitted a legislative proposal to Congress today that would imperil the balance between the executive and legislative branches by concentrating power in the White House free of democratic accountability and would expose long-standing public protections to powerful special interests and industry insiders.

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Senate Vote Gives Homeland Security Power to Waive All Law

Statement of Robert Shull, Director of Regulatory Policy, OMB Watch
In passing the Iraq War Supplemental today, the Senate also gave the Secretary of Homeland Security the power to waive any and all law in the course of building roads and barriers along the U.S. borders -- without limit and with no checks and balances. The measure is part of the "REAL ID Act of 2005," the controversial immigration bill attached by the House as a rider to the Iraq war supplemental.

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OMB Watch Urges Senate Rules Committee 'Oppose 527 Reform Act'

WASHINGTON, DC -- Concerned that the 527 Reform Act of 2005 is overbroad and will hinder nonprofits' speech and advocacy rights, the watchdog group OMB Watch is urging the Senate Rules Committee not to act on the bill (S. 271) set for markup Wednesday April 27. A draft substitute amendment to S. 271 by sponsors Sens. John McCain (R-AZ) and Russell Feingold (D-WI) removes some problems with the original bill. For instance, the substitute bill would ensure 501(c) organizations would not be adversely impacted, as many experts feared (including a member of the Federal Election Commission).

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Watchdogs Denounce Federal Cuts to Gov’t Oversight Programs

The New Standard & Z-Magazine/Znet (MA) By Michelle Chen. Reprinted with permission. Packaged in terms suggesting progress, conservative lawmakers are pushing hard to modify, restrict, "realign" or annihilate federal regulatory bodies and measures meant to protect the public from corporate abuse. Apr 14 - In the coming months, the rules that govern industrial pollution, workplace safety, and other public interest issues may be headed for roadblocks from Congress and the White House.

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Bush's Most Radical Plan Yet

With a vote of hand-picked lobbyists, the president could terminate any federal agency he dislikes By OSHA GRAY DAVIDSON From Rolling Stone May 5, 2005 Excerpts reprinted with permission.

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All PART Of The Game

By Gary Bass and Adam Hughes, OMB Watch
Published March 25, 2005 at TomPaine.com
The Program Assessment Rating Tool, or PART, is a system in the President's Management Agenda that's supposed to be used to evaluate a program's effectiveness so decisions about expansion and funding can be more accurate. But a little digging reveals that Fiscal Year 2006 budget cuts were made based on ideology -- not on a measured, objective system. Gary Bass and Adam Hughes of OMB Watch explain.

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Bush Should Be Tough on Budgets - Not People

By Adam Hughes, Budget Policy Analyst, OMB Watch
Indiana's Republican Governor Mitch Daniels, former Office of Management and Budget (OMB) director under President Bush, made a startling announcement Jan. 18: he said he wants to raise taxes in his state.

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