Publications

Congressional Bills Seek to Cut Public Scrutiny and Participation Out of Keystone XL Decision

The Keystone XL pipeline is a controversial project that would transport tar sands oil (which is more corrosive than crude oil) from Canada through America's heartland to Texas, creating air, water, and public health risks in its wake. In the past two weeks, lawmakers have introduced bills in both the House and Senate to strip the decision on the Keystone XL pipeline away from the Obama administration. The bills, if passed, would short-circuit the regulatory permitting process and prevent the public from voicing their concerns about the public health and environmental risks of the pipeline.

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The Small Business Administration's Office of Advocacy Exaggerates Its Influence

The Office of Advocacy, an independent office within the Small Business Administration (SBA), recently released its annual report to Congress on agency compliance with the Regulatory Flexibility Act (RFA) during fiscal year (FY) 2012. In the report, the office makes dubious claims that its efforts to delay or stop six agency rules saved billions for small businesses in the last fiscal year.

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Battle Lines Await an (Unlikely) Budgetary "Grand Bargain"

With Congress and the Obama administration still divided over tax revenues, the possibility of a "grand bargain" on another major deficit reduction package seems increasingly small.

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One Step Forward, One Step Missed: House Committee Approves Limited FOIA Improvements

On March 20, the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform approved the FOIA Oversight and Implementation Act (H.R. 1211), sponsored by the committee's chair and ranking member, Reps. Darrell Issa (R-CA) and Elijah Cummings (D-MD). The bill would take steps to improve agency compliance with the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) and require agencies to post more public information online. However, more reforms will be needed to address fundamental flaws in the current FOIA system.

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Freedom of Information Act Performance, 2012: Agencies Are Processing More Requests but Redacting More Often

A building block of American democracy is the idea that citizens have a right to information about how their government works and what it does in their name. However, citizen access to public information was only established by law in 1966 with the passage of the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA). The law has since been strengthened and improved over the years, and FOIA currently requires federal agencies to formally respond to requests for information within 20 working days or potentially face a lawsuit. While there are exemptions that agencies can use to avoid the disclosure of sensitive information or information that violates privacy rights, agencies processed over half a million FOIA requests in 2012. In about 41 percent of these cases, the information requested was released “in full” with no parts “redacted” – i.e., clean, complete documents with no blacked-out parts were provided to the person who requested the information.

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Environmental Protections Threatened by Sequestration and Funding Cuts

Federal agencies have started feeling the impact of the across-the-board spending cuts, known as sequestration, that went into effect March 1. Plans to furlough employees and cut programs are underway at many of the agencies charged with issuing and enforcing public health and safety standards. For the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), these additional funding cuts will further drain already decreasing resources and impair the agency's ability to protect our air, water, and health.

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Undoing Sequestration

Across-the-board federal spending cuts, called "sequestration," have begun. What can be done to undo this damaging budget policy? One of the primary barriers to fixing sequestration is that it is playing out much like the metaphor of a boiling frog. According to the metaphor, if a frog is placed in a pan of boiling water, it will quickly jump out. But if it is placed in a pan of water that is room temperature, and then only slowly heated to a boil, the frog will not notice the danger and will be slowly cooked to death.

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Former Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs Administrator Paints Unrecognizably Rosy Picture of Rule Reviews

Cass Sunstein, former Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA) Administrator, recently penned an article, "OIRA: Myths and Realities," which purports to explain what OIRA really does when it reviews proposed and final rules submitted by agencies under Executive Orders 12866 and 13563. Sunstein's claims differ greatly from what agencies and public interest advocates say happens behind closed doors at OIRA.

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After Four Years, Obama Delivers Policy Leadership on Transparency, but Agency Implementation Is Inconsistent

Four years ago, President Obama entered office offering an inspiring vision for a more open and participatory government. A new report by Center for Effective Government staff credits the Obama administration for using its first term to construct a policy foundation that could make that vision a reality. However, the actual implementation of open government policies within federal agencies has been inconsistent and sometimes weak.

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Illinois Introduces Strongest Fracking Disclosure Bill in the Country

Illinois would have the strongest protective oversight rules on fracking in the country under legislation introduced on Feb. 21 in the General Assembly. The bill includes nearly all the key elements for an effective chemical disclosure policy identified in a previous Center for Effective Government report. The bill represents stronger model legislation for states that want to protect the public from the health and environmental risks of fracking.

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