Publications

Gaps in Homeland Security Benefit Bush Campaign Funders

The Bush administration has weakened, opposed, or failed to initiate proposals to address security gaps that leave chemical and nuclear plants, hazardous material carriers, shipping ports, and drinking water facilities vulnerable to terrorist attacks, according to a new report that links these failures to Bush campaign funding from the very industries that oppose needed regulation.

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Recent Studies Show Lack of Enforcement of Environmental Laws

Enforcement of federal environmental law has declined significantly during the Bush years, according to several recent studies, even as the 30-year trend of environmental improvement has begun to reverse course. Declining Enforcement

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Partisan Patterns Detected in Civil Rights, Environment Decisions

Federal judges appointed by Republican administrations -- and the Bush administration in particular -- are expressing, through decisions and dissents, a marked bias against civil rights, environmental, and other public interest litigation, according to two new reports.

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Administration Continues to Suppress, Weaken Science

In three separate cases in the past month, agency scientists have claimed that government agency officials have suppressed or softened their scientific findings, allowing policies harmful to public health and the environment to be carried out despite scientific evidence of their potential harm. Antidepressants and Vioxx

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Watcher: October 4th, 2004

Oct 5, 2004 by Guest Blogger

Federal Budget

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Fox Guarding the Clearinghouse on Contracts Data

On October 1, a downsized government office turned over key data on roughly $290 billion worth of government contracts to a private company to provide online access. Critics on the left and right predict this move could raise barriers to public disclosure and undermine the public's ability to hold federal contractors and government officials accountable for the way taxpayer dollars are spent.

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House Committee Drops Balanced Budget Amendment -- for Now

The House Judiciary Committee convened in mid-September to consider a constitutional amendment to balance the budget but failed to make headway on the proposal. When the committee met Sept. 22 to debate and vote on the measure, Democrats clearly demonstrated their opposition and offered several amendments, including one by John Conyers (D-MI) to exempt Social Security. The committee adjourned before voting on the amendment, and upon reconvening did not have a quorum, and thus could not complete the vote. There was brief speculation that the amendment would go straight to the House floor; however, it appears House Republicans have dropped their work on the amendment for now.

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Economy and Jobs Watch: The Lost Years -- by the Numbers

Over the past 4 years there has been a dramatic shift in the nation's fiscal policy. Has the new strategy worked? The numbers indicate it has not.

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Congress Spends $146 Billion To Extend Certain Tax Cuts Without Offsets

Congress voted to extend so-called "middle-class" tax reductions last week, and chose not to offset any of the cost of the $146 billion measure. In addition, the bill also includes $13 billion in tax cuts for businesses. When factoring in the additional interest costs, the bill will increase the deficit by over $200 billion.

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Large Corporations May Receive More Tax Breaks

The House and Senate continue to move forward on a substantial corporate tax bill. The Foreign Sales Corporation and Extraterritorial Income Exclusion (FSC/ETI) bill is designed to remove certain corporate tax subsidies that were ruled illegal by the World Trade Organization. Repealing the subsidies would increase federal revenue by approximately $50 billion over the next 10 years. (The bill is currently in conference. See a summary of the differences between the House and Senate version.)

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