Publications

Appeals Court Upholds USAID Pledge Requirement for HIV/AIDS Grantees

On Feb. 27, a three-judge panel of the U.S. Circuit Court for the District of Columbia overturned a lower court ruling that voided a USAID requirement that grantees under an HIV/AIDS program adopt certain policies on prostitution. The ruling in DKT International v. USAID is the first decision in two cases in separate federal appeals courts that involve the same issue. DKT expects to seek a re-hearing before the entire Circuit Court. An appeal from another lower court ruling that overturned the same requirement is pending in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit in New York.

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Latest Watcher

Mar 7, 2007 by Matthew Madia

Be sure to check out the latest issue of our biweekly newsletter, The Watcher. Regulatory policy articles this time: Bush Continues Anti-Regulatory Efforts with Industry Nominee to CPSC Scientific Consultant Sparks Controversy over Conflicts of Interest In Congress, No Shortage of Fuel Economy Proposals

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Watcher: March 6, 2007

Mar 7, 2007 by Matt Lewis

War Spending Keeps Climbing, Says CBO A new round of defense and emergency appropriations will raise the total amount of money spent on the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq to nearly $750 billion by the end of FY 2008, according to a recent report by the Congressional Budget Office (CBO). Congress Set to Consider Largest Supplemental Funding Request in History Congress will soon begin work on the largest supplemental funding bill ever requested — $99.6 billion — to continue to fund the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, along with other items.

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Congress Set to Consider Largest Supplemental Funding Request in History

Congress will soon begin work on the largest supplemental funding bill ever requested — $99.6 billion — to continue to fund the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, along with other items. The request was submitted to Congress by the president in early February, when the FY 2008 budget was released. If approved, this request would add $93.4 billion to the $70 billion Congress already appropriated for the "war on terror" in FY 2007 and bring the total cost of the wars to over $500 billion.

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Patriot Act Drives Banking Problems for U.S. Muslim Charity

During a September 2006 raid of the Michigan office of Life for Relief and Development (Life), the federal authorities seized computers and organizational records, but told the press the investigation did not relate to terrorism, and that the charity could still operate as before the raid. Although the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) returned most of the computers shortly after the raid, they kept the documents and files of the organization. When Life later requested the financial documents and receipts to be returned, to enable the organization to file the appropriate tax returns, the FBI attempted to charge Life over $100,000 for “copying fees.”

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Whistleblower Protection Begins to Move in Congress

On Feb. 14, the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee marked up and unanimously approved the Whistleblower Protection Enhancement Act (H.R. 985), a bill that would extend whistleblower protections to more federal employees and require officials to more vigorously investigate retaliation. Whistleblower protection legislation has also been introduced in the Senate.

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Legislation Criminalizes Disclosures of Classified Information

Sen. Jon Kyl (R-AZ) introduced an amendment Mar. 2 to prevent the unauthorized disclosure of classified information by congressional employees. The proposal is a scaled-back version of a previous ambitious attempt to criminalize all leaks of classified information, but the amendment still met with strong opposition from the public interest and open government community.

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Medical Marijuana Lawsuit Uses Data Quality Act

A new Data Quality Act (DQA) lawsuit was filed Feb. 22 in a federal court in California. The suit claims that the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) are disseminating false and misleading information regarding the health benefits of marijuana. The lawsuit is another test of the judicial reviewability of DQA, which enables groups and members of the public to challenge the data quality of federal government information.

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Justice Department Refers Kinder USA's Harassment Complaint against FBI to FBI

For nearly three years, according to Kinder USA, the U.S. relief organization based in Dallas, TX, has endured harassment and surveillance of its board, staff and volunteers by the FBI and the U.S. Attorney's office in Dallas. In December 2006, Board Chair Dr. Laila Al-Marayati sent a letter to the Department of Justice Office of Inspector General (IG) detailing the problem and asking for an independent investigation.

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House Starts Moving on Lobbying and Ethics Reform

Lobbying and ethics rules changes are rapidly becoming a focal point of the 110th Congress. Since the Senate passed the Legislative Transparency and Accountability Act of 2007, the action has moved to the House, where a bill on executive branch lobbying recently passed the Oversight and Government Reform Committee, and a Judiciary subcommittee addressed possible changes to the Senate bill.

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