Publications

Choose the Ten Most Wanted Government Documents for 2004

What information would you most want government to show the public that the public cannot currently see? The 28 secret pages of Congress' joint inquiry into intelligence failures leading up to 9/11? The threats to community safety posed by chemical plants? How the government has used Patriot Act powers? How about a mailing address for the nation's "spy court?" OMB Watch and the Center for Democracy and Technology are looking for a few good documents, the Ten Most Wanted government documents for 2004, to be precise. And we're inviting the public to help.

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Alabama Considers FOIA Exemption for Security

The Alabama legislature recently introduced Senate Bill 205, which would exempt security information from public disclosure currently mandated under four laws. Alabama State Sen. Steve French (R-Birmingham) sponsored the bill.

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IRS Seeks comments on Form 8453 for Exempt Organizations

The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) is soliciting comments from the public concerning Form 8453-EO, Exempt Organization Declaration and Signature for Electronic Filing. The March 5 Federal Register announcement request for comments noted that comments should address:
  • Whether the collection of information is necessary for the proper performance of the functions of the agency, including whether the information shall have practical utility;
  • the accuracy of the agency’s estimate of burden of the collection of information;

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FEC Begins Rulemaking on Scope of Regulation

In preparation for this rulemaking, the Alliance for Justice, Charity Lobbying in the Public Interest, the National Council of Nonprofit Associations, the National Committee for Responsive Philanthropy and OMB Watch developed four principles that we believe must be incorporated into any rule the FEC adopts. The principles are available at www.nonprofitadvocacy.org Click here to see the FEC's Federal Register Announcment.

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President Bush Stacks Council on Bioethics

On Feb. 27, President Bush dismissed two handpicked members of his Council on Bioethics who had publicly supported human embryonic stem cell research -- which the president opposes -- and replaced them with three members who can be counted on to fall in line. The two dismissed members include Elizabeth Blackburn, a renowned biologist at the University of California at San Francisco, and William May, a highly respected emeritus professor of ethics at Southern Methodist University. In their place, the president appointed:

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    Study on Grants by Conservative Foundations Published by NCRP

    The National Committee for Responsive Philanthropy has published Axis of Ideology: Conservative Foundations and Public Policy, a follow up to its 1997 report on conservative philanthropy. The research showed that conservative foundations continue to be more likely to provide flexible core operating and long-term support to their grantees than other foundations.

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    Possible House Hearings on Exempt Status for 501(c) Groups

    In a March 2 speech to the Federation of American Hospitals, House Ways and Means Committee Chair Bill Thomas (R-CA) said he wants the committee to investigate the benefits tax exempt groups give taxpayers, and consider whether more specific requirements should be imposed in exchange for exempt status. A committee spokesman said nothing has been scheduled.

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    FEC Defends "Issue Ad" Regulations in Federal Lawsuit

    Briefs were filed in federal district court on Feb. 27 by Reps. Chris Shays (R-CT) and Martin Meehan (D-MA) and the Federal Election Commission (FEC) in a case challenging regulations implementing the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act of 2002 (BCRA). At issue are regulations on soft money, defining illegal coordination between campaigns and outside groups and exemptions to the prohibition on broadcasts that mention federal candidates in the period before elections (called ?electioneering communications?

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    DOJ Explains CII's Impact on FOIA

    The Department of Justice (DOJ) released a memo explaining the impacts of a new Critical Infrastructure Information (CII) rule on the implementation of the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) throughout the federal government. The rule DOJ refers to was an interim final rule published by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), which restricts public disclosure and government action on voluntarily submitted information about infrastructure vulnerabilities and problems.

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    U.S. Wearing Blinders on Global Warming

    Ironically, just months after the business-friendly Bush administration squelched the climate change section of the Environmental Protection Agency’s report on the environment, the world’s second largest insurer released a report revealing how climate change is rising on the corporate agenda.

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