Publications

Enforcement Report: A round up of news items related to agency enforcement activity & gaps

As reported in the recent Citizens for Sensible Safeguards report Special Interest Takeover, one of the many threats to our regulatory system is the lack of enforcement of existing regulation. In recent years, the budgets for agency enforcement efforts have been slashed and personnel have been cut. The EPA's Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance, for example, has seen a reduction in staff of 12 percent, bringing its staff numbers to the lowest levels since the formation of the agency.

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AmeriCorps Programs Violate Separation of Church and State

On July 6, a federal court judge ruled that AmeriCorps must stop funding programs that place volunteers in Catholic schools.

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IRS Suspends Tax-Exempt Status of Group on Terrorist List

The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) released Announcement 2004-56 on June 24, suspending the tax-exempt status of the Rabbi Meir Kahane Memorial Fund (the fund), which is a part of the Kahane movement. The action was based Section 501(p), a new section of the tax code created in 2003 as part of the Military Family Tax Relief Act.

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Poll Shows Growing Public Support for First Amendment

Public support for the First Amendment has rebounded to pre-9/11 levels, according to this year's results of an annual poll by the First Amendment Center.

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Tax Cut Extensions Possible

We reported earlier that Senate Finance Committee Chairman Charles Grassley (R-IA) wanted to delay until September consideration of extending the "middle-class" tax cuts -- marriage penalty, expansion of the 10% income tax bracket, and the $1000 child tax credit -- that will expire on December 31. However, the Bureau of National Affairs (BNA) reported July 12 that House and Senate leaders plan to consider the cuts late this week.

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Appropriations in November?

The House has been steadily moving forward with appropriations bills, in spite of the tight cap on appropriations spending for 2004; but in the Senate only one bill -- Defense -- has passed, and only one other bill -- Homeland Security -- has even gotten through a full Senate committee. None has made it to the Senate floor.

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Ad Council pushes public to "exercise freedom" after 9/11

The Advertising Council last week released several public service announcements designed to remind Americans to support and defend freedom as part of the response to the attacks of September 11. These new ads encourage Americans to exercise their freedom by voting, volunteering and otherwise engaging in civic life.

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Estate Tax Update

The status of the estate tax repeal has not changed, but action is likely before this congressional session ends.

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EPA Releases 2002 Toxic Release Inventory: Right-to-Know Compromised

The Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) 2002 data for the Toxic Release Inventory (TRI) shows a 5 percent increase in toxic releases to the environment. The agency's premier right-to-know program released the new data on June 23, one day after the Environmental Integrity Project published a report documenting levels of air toxins four to five times higher than previously reported.

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News Brief: Court Rejects Judicial Review of Data Quality Act

In the first ever court decision to address the Data Quality Act, a federal district court in Minnesota has held that the Act does not permit petitioners to seek judicial review.

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