New Bill Would Put Government in Hands of Bush Cronies

Statement of Robert Shull, OMB Watch
A bill introduced in Congress yesterday would allow Bush administration cronies to recommend sweeping changes in the federal government - including the elimination of entire programs - and force those changes through Congress, according to the watchdog group OMB Watch.

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H.R. 5766 - The Government Efficiency Act of 2006

Rep. Todd Tiahrt's (R-KS) sunset commission legislation, introduced July 12, 2006. As reported out by House Govt Reform Committee As introduced

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Bill Analysis: H.R. 5766

Rep. Todd Tiahrt (R-KS) has introduced a new sunset commission bill (H.R. 5766), combining some elements from the two previous sunset bills introduced in the House earlier in the 109th Congress.

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Sunset Commission Bill Imminent

A sunset commission bill could arrive this week, if House leadership sticks to its previously announced plans. As OMB Watch reported earlier, House leaders intended to hold a vote on sunset commission legislation within the first couple of weeks of returning from the July 4 recess.

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Senators 'Hold' EPA Nominee to Protest Cuts to Pollution Reporting

New Jersey Sens. Frank Lautenberg (D) and Robert Menendez (D) have placed a hold on a Bush administration nominee to protest a set of Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) proposals to dismantle the Toxics Release Inventory (TRI). Last year, EPA proposed significant cuts to the TRI program, our country's most complete inventory of toxic pollution, that would according to Lautenberg, "deny thousands of communities - including 160 in New Jersey - full information about the release of hazardous toxic emissions in their neighborhoods."

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Congress to Limit Public Participation in Forest Service Decisions

After courts in California and Montana struck down Forest Service rules that limited public participation in certain logging decisions, the Senate has added language to an appropriations bill that would reinstate those rules.

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Attack on FOIA

How would you like to celebrate the 40th birthday of the Freedom of Information Act? By weakening it?

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Overview of Sunset Commission Language in Gregg Bill (S. 3521)

A quick look at the sunset commission proposal in title IV, subtitle B of the “Stop Over Spending Act of 2006,” S. 3521, introduced by Sen. Judd Gregg (R-NH) and reported out of the Senate Budget Committee. Basic Concept

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U.S. Promoting Paralysis by Analysis Worldwide

What's bad for America is being touted as great for the rest of the world: By year's end, the European Union is expected to adopt REACH, a proposal that would "require manufacturers to test industrial chemicals used in the manufacturing process to gather health and safety data." REACH stands for "Registration, Evaluation and Authorization of Chemicals." The bill "has prompted a U.S.-led coalition of 1

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Sunset Commission Update: Delay in House, Rush in Senate

While House leadership announced that sunset commissions would come up for a vote later than initially predicted, the Senate unexpectedly set the stage for its own consideration of a sunset commission proposal. OMB Watch reported conflicting accounts two weeks ago about the timing for unveiling, and bringing to a vote, a final House package on sunset commissions. At the time, House GOP leadership suggested that a vote could happen imminently, while Hill sources speculated that leadership was being overly optimistic.

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