It's time to seriously work towards freezing the tax cuts that are scheduled to be phased in 2004, and oppose all new tax cuts. This is one of the most important issues facing us as a nation, and will affect our lives for decades to come.

The “Stealth PAC” law of 2000 requires political action committees (PACs) exempt under Section 527 of the federal tax code to register with the IRS and report their contributions and expenditures. (Contributions to 527 organizations are not tax dedcutible.) The National Federation of Republican Assemblies filed a constitutional challenge to the law in federal court in Alabama soon after it passed. On August 27 Judge Richard Vollmer of the U.S. District Court for Southern Alabama upheld part of the law and overturned part as unconstitutional.

In an effort well outside the scope of its traditional activities, the Office of Management and Budget is reviewing an Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) report on children’s health before publication -- the first time, to our knowledge, OMB has ever involved itself in the shaping of a scientific study.

Last week the Federal Election Commission (FEC) held public hearings on its proposed regulations implementing the ban on broadcasts that refer to federal candidates within 60 days of an election or 30 days of a primary. The Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act of 2002 creates the new restriction on broadcasts by corporations, including nonprofits, and labor unions, but gives the FEC authority to create exemptions for broadcasts that are not related to elections. The hearing focused on how broad or narrow these exemptions should be.