On Dec. 2, Americans United for Separation of Church and State (AU) filed a lawsuit in federal court to block taxpayer funding for restoration of mission churches in California. The suit charges that the recently passed “California Missions Preservation Act” is tantamount to taxpayer-supported religion. The bill, signed by President Bush on Nov. 30, requires the Secretary of the Interior, currently Gale Norton, to make grants of up to $10 million to the California Missions Foundation to repair the missions and their artifacts. Many of these artifacts are religious symbols and artwork.

A data quality challenge recently filed by an industry group may have influenced government officials’ recommendation that the greater sage grouse not be listed as an endangered species. The Partnership for the West is a coalition of organizations, which support a largely anti-environment agenda and receive support from corporations like Dow Chemical.

In a surprising move, congressional and White House negotiators agreed on intelligence reform legislation that created no major victories for the public interest but could have been much worse for open government and environmental protection near the nation’s borders. The final bill still keeps secret the total intelligence budget, which the Washington Post estimated to be approximately $40 billion. The 9/11 Commission had pushed Congress to catalyze stronger public oversight of the government’s intelligence activities by disclosing the total annual budget.

Last week Congress reconvened for a second lame duck session. They succeeded in stripping controversial tax language from the bill and on Dec. 8 the President finally signed it, officially bringing the much delayed FY 2005 appropriations process to a close. The omnibus bill combines nine appropriations bills Congress was unable to finish working on before the end of the fiscal year, along with thousands of provisions and riders.