Government Matters

Ongoing Listeria Outbreak Illustrates the High Stakes of Food Safety Regulation

The multistate outbreak of listeriosis, linked to cantaloupes from Colorado-based Jensen Farms, is the deadliest foodborne disease outbreak in a decade. Infections caused by listeria have taken 23 lives, caused at least one miscarriage, and sickened over 100 people in 24 different states. The grim effects of recent foodborne illness outbreaks illustrate the need for continuous improvements to our food safety programs. Public health depends on agencies having the authority and resources to issue necessary safeguards, conduct adequate inspections, and enforce food safety rules.

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Despite Delays and Threats, EPA Finally Classifies TCE as a Cancer-Causing Chemical

After more than 20 years, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has finally determined that trichloroethylene (TCE), a chlorinated solvent used primarily for removing grease from metal, causes cancer. The assessment was finalized by the EPA’s Integrated Risk Information System (IRIS), an important but troubled program that is tasked with providing the public with critical information about dangerous chemical exposures.

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Pulpit Freedom Sunday Clarifies the Need for Clarity

Hundreds of pastors took to their pulpits on Sunday, Oct. 2, to engage in an annual civil disobedience ritual known as Pulpit Freedom Sunday. Initiated by the Alliance Defense Fund and supported by Glenn Beck, Pulpit Freedom Sunday aims to challenge the current prohibition on partisan electioneering by churches and other 501(c)(3) organizations.

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Libraries Can Connect the Public to Open Government

In recent years, government has increasingly embraced the proactive disclosure of information and created online tools to increase transparency. But how do Americans discover that information? Who helps them learn how to use complex government databases and tools? The answer may be a surprisingly familiar one: libraries.

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Financial Taxes Can Raise Revenues, May Help Stabilize Markets

The congressional Super Committee, tasked with forging a $1.2 trillion deficit reduction package by Thanksgiving, is currently deliberating on which revenues – if any – to raise and to include in its plan. With Wall Street at the center of the 2008 economic collapse, the committee should look to a pair of revenue options that would fulfill the dual roles of addressing risks to the economy posed by Wall Street and raising much needed revenue: a financial speculation tax and a financial crisis responsibility fee on large financial institutions.

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Congress Should Streamline Budget Process

Along with all the attention the federal budget is receiving these days, the budget process itself is coming under greater scrutiny. Both the House and Senate budget committees held hearings recently to discuss how to reform the budget process. The panels featured former budget directors and academics, but curiously, there was little talk of fixing the immediate problem of budgetary gridlock.

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Small Business Owners: Clean Energy Economy Will Increase Prosperity

A poll of small business owners conducted by the Small Business Majority reveals strong support for clean energy solutions as one important element leading to innovation, economic growth, and job creation. Huge majorities support "bold" environmental initiatives to increase fuel efficiency and support the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) regulation of carbon emissions.

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Time to Take Regulations Seriously: How Legislative Sleight-of-Hand is Being Used to Undermine Public Protections

When the 112th Congress convened, it agreed to a rule that, barring emergencies, no bill would be voted on until its text had been publicly available for three days. Recently, however, anti-regulatory legislators have become adept at using amendments and seemingly innocuous provisions to attempt to undercut long-standing safeguards without providing sufficient time for debate and discussion of the implications of their actions. These tactics threaten public protections and the legislative process itself.

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Obama’s Deficit Reduction Plan Has Room for Improvement

The nation is less than two months away from what could be a seminal moment in its fiscal history. In late November, the new “Super Committee,” formed by the recent debt ceiling deal, will release its set of recommendations to cut the federal budget deficit by $1.2 trillion. In an effort to influence the hectic debate the committee’s recommendations are sure to start, President Obama released on Sept. 19 a $3.3 trillion deficit reduction plan as a package of recommendations for the committee to adopt.

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Study Shows Private Contractors Usually Cost More than Public Employees

Conventional wisdom in Washington dictates that the private sector can always provide services at a lower cost than the federal government. A new study from the Project On Government Oversight (POGO), however, turns conventional wisdom on its head, demonstrating that the government rarely reaps the purported benefits of lower costs through the outsourcing of service work. In fact, POGO found that, on average, the government pays service contractors more than 1.8 times the amount it pays federal employees with the same education, doing the same job and performing similar tasks.

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