Press Room

OMB Watch Unveils New Report on Nonprofits and Elections

WASHINGTON, Aug. 3, 2007—OMB Watch today released a new report on the role of nonpartisan, nonprofit organizations in elections. How Nonprofits Helped America Vote: 2006 clearly illustrates that the work of nonprofits is critical in increasing civic participation throughout the country and fostering vibrant, engaged communities. The report focuses solely on so-called 501(c)(3) organizations and does not cover the activities of special interest associations or 527 political committees.

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Bush's Budget Bluster

By Matt Lewis and Adam Hughes, OMB Watch
Published August 2, 2007 at TomPaine.com
The debate over Iraq has overshadowed an important, and bitter, budget fight brewing between Congress and the president, who has threatened to veto a host of modest, responsible congressional spending proposals. With the battle lines drawn, Congress can make clear with whom they stand: an out-of-touch president and a bankrupt ideology, or the best interests of the American public.

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OMB Watch Urges Senate to "Get It Done" on Lobbying and Ethics Reform

WASHINGTON, Aug. 1, 2007—OMB Watch today urged the Senate to follow the House's lead and ensure that lobbying and ethics reform legislation, known as S. 1, is passed before Congress's August recess.

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OMB Watch Analysis Raises Questions about Changes to Regulatory Process that Go into Effect Today

WASHINGTON, July 24, 2007—On Jan. 18, 2007, President Bush issued Executive Order 13422, which amends Executive Order 12866, Regulatory Planning and Review. The same day, the White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB) issued its Final Bulletin for Agency Good Guidance Practices. The two executive directives work in concert to alter the ways federal agencies develop and enforce regulations. As of today, agencies are to be in full compliance with the provisions of the executive order and the Final Bulletin.

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OMB Watch Joins the Call to Move Lobby Reform Legislation Forward

WASHINGTON, July 11, 2007—OMB Watch joins with the Campaign Legal Center, Common Cause, Democracy 21, the League of Women Voters, Public Citizen, U.S. PIRG and other organizations in strongly condemning current efforts to block the Senate from going to conference on lobbying and ethics reform legislation, which the Senate passed in January.

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Charities Object to Treasury's Broad Allegations of Ties to Terrorism

WASHINGTON, June 12, 2007—OMB Watch, Grantmakers Without Borders, the American Civil Liberties Union and several other charitable organizations sent a letter June 8 to Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson objecting to the Department of the Treasury's continued broad allegations of ties between the nonprofit sector and criminal activity associated with terrorism.

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Citizens Have a Right to Know About Lobbying Efforts

May 16, 2007
By Gary D. Bass
Special to Roll Call
Reprinted with permission
In a May 10 Roll Call Guest Observer ("Citizens Don't Need 'Protection' From Lobbying"), Douglas Johnson and Caroline Fredrickson posed a question: "Do ordinary citizens need to be protected from groups that may urge them to contact their elected Representatives in Congress about some pending bill?" The authors were referring to H.R. 2093, the latest proposal to shine a light on who is behind big-money, federal grass-roots lobbying expenditures.

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Statement from Gary D. Bass on Privacy Violation in Government Data

WASHINGTON, April 20, 2007—It has become public information today that the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has been including Social Security numbers in a data field that identifies certain public financial transactions with government (e.g., loans). In response, OMB Watch has taken two actions. First, we have temporarily redacted the information in the USDA data field, which serves as a unique identifier, from our online service, FedSpending.org. Second, we call on the federal government to immediately remedy the privacy violation by providing a new unique identifier that does not contain personally identifiable information.

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Bush Recess Appointment Threatens Public Protections

WASHINGTON, April 4, 2007—President George W. Bush today installed Susan Dudley as White House regulatory czar through a recess appointment. Dudley will now serve in the White House Office of Management and Budget as administrator of the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA).

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Charities File Amicus Brief in Grassroots Communications Case

WASHINGTON, March 28, 2007—On March 23, a diverse coalition of 17 charities filed an amicus brief in the U.S. Supreme Court case Wisconsin Right to Life v. Federal Election Commission, urging the Court to protect the right of charities to broadcast grassroots educational and lobbying communications. The brief argues that because charities and religious organizations must remain nonpartisan in elections, they do not broadcast the type of "sham issue ads" that the McCain-Feingold law was meant to stop.

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