In a recent letter to his colleagues, Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist (R-TN) reaffirmed his promise to hold a vote on full repeal of the estate tax, writing that one of his major priorities this summer is to "kill the death tax forever." Groups on both sides of the issue are stepping up their efforts leading up to the vote, holding press conferences and events and producing reports, all in the hopes of getting as much attention as possible from legislators around what promises to be a very close battle. You can still add your voice to growing support for the dynasty tax.

There has been little movement on the FY 2007 budget resolution since it was pulled from the House floor before the April congressional recess. Despite a deal late last week between Majority Leader John Boehner (R-OH) and Appropriations Committee Chairman Jerry Lewis (R-CA) that removed one of three major obstacles to approval in the House, the outlook for the resolution remains bleak.

Approximately 284 facilities in 47 states have reduced risks to nearby communities from hazardous chemicals by switching to safer chemical processes or moving to safer locations, according to an Apr. 24 report by the Center for American Progress (CAP). Preventing Toxic Terrorism highlights the need for a national program to encourage thousands of other chemical facilities to become safer neighbors through the use of alternative, inherently safer chemicals and technologies.

In each of the past two years, President Bush has publicly cited a group of 100-plus federal programs in his State of the Union address that he wishes to eliminate or drastically reduce because they are "not getting results." Yet, over two-thirds of these programs have not even been reviewed by the administration's own tool for determining results: the Program Assessment Rating Tool (PART).