The Center for Effective Government (formerly OMB Watch) ceased operations as of March 2016. The majority of work and materials has been passed on to the Project On Government Oversight (POGO). This site is being maintained as an archive of materials produced.
The California Association of Nonprofits (CAN) recently completed a study of the impact on nonprofits of funding cutbacks in California. In the report "Holes in the Safety-net: Study of Funding Cutbacks and Safety-net Nonprofits in California," CAN found that a wide range of nonprofits in the state are squeezed between revenue reductions and increased demand for services.
Amidst growing criticism that the White Hose and Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) attempted to classify information that would prove more embarrassing than threatening national security, senior Republicans and Democrats in Congress are moving to reform the classification system.
While many observers believe that the economy is in the process of recovering from weak growth and a dismal labor market, there is still considerable evidence that the recovery is not serving everyone.
A provision in the transportation spending bill, H.R. 3550 and S. 1072, could pre-empt state and local sunshine laws and pre-empt public access to problems on the roads, highways, sea, and air.
The Congressional Budget Office has released two new reports on the impact of the estate tax on charitable giving. The reports confirm that there is a significant negative impact on charitable giving that would result from the elimination of the estate tax.
The Office of Management and Budget is required to produce a "Mid-Session Review" by July 15 of each year. However, the mid-session budget review has still not been issued.
The political reality, especially in an election year, makes extension of the so-called "middle-class" tax cuts very likely. Hardly anyone is arguing against extending these cuts, as long as they are paid for. However, there are very good arguments why, even If the cost of the extension is offset, extension of these tax cuts is not supportable.
A bipartisan agreement to extend the so-called "middle-class" tax cuts for an additional two years bit the dust last week. Efforts to extend the cuts will now be delayed until Congress returns in September.
A new Harris poll conducted for Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety reveals that nine out of ten Americans believe that governmental regulation to protect health and safety is important.
The finding accords with similar findings since 1996.
According to the study's authors, "the weight of public opinion is overwhelmingly on the side of having federal responsibility for . . . safety and public health. The intensity of support is also high." Of those who rated the government's role as important, almost 64% (or 58% of all respondents) considered the government's role as very important.
