Government Matters

Maloney Introduces Contractor Accountability Bill

Rep. Carolyn Maloney (D-NY) introduced legislation (H.R. 5292) last week that seeks to ensure federal contractors follow the law by creating a centralized database on actions taken against them, including government lawsuits, consent decrees, and administrative agreements. The legislation, which is co-sponsored by Reps. Stephen Horn (R-CA) and Jim Turner (D-TX), follows a report by the Project on Government Oversight (POGO), as well as articles in U.S. News & World Report and Mother Jones, which demonstrated that many of the largest federal contractors are also major league lawbreakers.

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Chemical Plant Security Act Approved in Senate Committee

On July 25 the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee unanimously approved S. 1602, a substitute version of the bill originally offered by Sen. Jon Corzine (D-NJ) in October 2001, that would require each chemical plant to address its vulnerability to a terrorist attack. Under the bill, plants must submit plans to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) showing how they will address their vulnerabilities. As this article points out, chemical plants have many hazards that could be removed to make them safer in the case of an accident or a terrorist attack.

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A Plan of Mismanagement of Information

The Government Printing Office (GPO) has operated as the sole clearinghouse and manager of most federal documents for years. The GPO is responsible not only for overseeing the printing of the multitude of documents produced by the federal government each year, much of which is contracted out to private printers, but also for ensuring that the documents are properly archived with federal depository libraries.

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FirstGov Folded Into New GSA Office

On July 23, the General Services Administration (GSA) announced the creation of a new Office of Citizen Services and Communications that will incorporate the Office of FirstGov, which oversees the federal government’s web portal, the Information Technology Office and the Intergovernmental Solutions Office. GSA Administrator Stephen Perry promised that the new office will serve as a "single front door to the services and information" the public requires in the medium it prefers.

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Update: Nonprofits Left Out of Corporate Reform Bill

Despite being included in the House version of corporate reform legislation, a provision that would require disclosure of corporate ties to nonprofits was not included in the final version that was signed into law. As reported in a previous Watcher, the provision would have required disclosure of contributions by corporations to any nonprofits where a corporate officer or a family member was also an officer. Versions of this legislation have been introduced repeatedly over the past few years, so it is likely that it will be seen again in the future.

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Diesel Rule, Rollback of Power Plant Regs to Move Ahead Despite Congressional Appeals

The Bush administration last week reaffirmed its commitment to strengthen diesel-engine standards but at the same time to rollback enforcement efforts against aging coal-fired power plants after receiving separate Congressional requests that it reconsider.

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Section 508 One Year Later

On the first anniversary of the implementation of a key federal law designed to improve technology access for all persons with, and within, federal agencies, questions and concerns about the level of compliance continue to loom.

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Department of Homeland Secrecy

The secrecy proposal began in President Bush’s proposal for the creation of a new Homeland Security Department as a single vague and overly broad sentence describing a new FOIA exemption for information concerning “infrastructure” and “vulnerabilities” that was “voluntarily submitted.” Numerous information provisions which go much further have now been proposed to replace this section of Homeland Security Act.

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IRS Sets 2004 Goals for E Filing Form 990, Seeks Comments on 990 EZ

The Internal Revenue Service expects to develop an electronic filing system for nonprofits to file Form 990, the annual information return required of most groups. Terry Lutes, director of the IRS's Electronic Tax administration, told participants in a July 9 web audio broadcast sponsored by the IRS that he is working with software developers to develop better e filing systems.

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CARE Act, Faith-Based Initiative Update

Following a press conference sponsored by Americans for Community and Faith-Centered Enterprise and the Charitable Giving Coalition last Thursday, Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle (D-SD) agreed to seek agreement on rules of debate so the CARE Act ( S. 1924) can go the Senate floor during the week of July 22. CARE Act sponsors Sen. Joe Lieberman (D-CT) and Sen. Rick Santorum (R-PA) spoke at the press conference, and said they expect the bill to be considered before the August recess. The bill passed the Senate Finance Committee in June, with several amendments.

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