Nearly 100 public interest advocates from around the country recently convened in Washington, DC, to build an agenda for improving the public's right to know about environmental and public health threats. Advocates for public health, safety, and the environment met to develop federal policy proposals that would enhance government engagement with communities and improve access to information crucial to protecting the public. The emerging agenda seeks to capitalize on recent openness initiatives by the federal government and the Obama administration's efforts to improve government transparency, participation, and collaboration.
The U.S. Senate, hampered by politics and process, recently failed yet again to pass food safety reform legislation. The Senate is in the process of considering both related and unrelated amendments to the bill during the lame-duck session.
When the 112th Congress convenes in January, attention will be focused on the newly Republican-controlled House. On transparency issues, House Republican leaders have sounded positive tones. However, it remains to be seen whether bipartisan consensus on meaningful transparency can be achieved or whether transparency will be wielded as a partisan weapon.
WASHINGTON, Nov. 17, 2010—OMB Watch today criticized the U.S. Chamber of Commerce for an irresponsible attack on government regulation, a key mechanism for providing public safeguards. The rebuke was in response to news that the Chamber will target environmental and worker protections and health care and financial reform regulations in the coming months.
The Treasury Department says that some time in the first or second quarter of next year, the government will need to shut down unless Congress raises the debt ceiling so that additional borrowing can occur to keep things running. This could be a battle royale, creating showdowns within the Republican Party between the Tea Party activists and establishment members, as well as between the Republican Party and President Obama.