Government Matters

FEC Delays Political Committee Rulemaking for 90 Days

At its May 13 meeting the Federal Election Commission (FEC) approved a General Counsel recommendation to defer action on its political committee rulemaking for 90 days. The General Counsel said the FEC needed time to give the complex issues in the case more thorough consideration, saying "It is just as important not to drop the issue as to get it right." The move makes it unlikely any new rules will take effect this year. In response the House Administration Committee has scheduled a hearing for May 20.

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OMB Updates Guidance for Federal Grantees

As part of its effort to streamline the federal grants process, the Office of Management and Budget has published updated versions of its grants circulars that make definitions of key terms consistent for all types of grantees. The new Title 2 of the Code of Federal Regulations will centralize all policy guidance and rules for grants and cooperative agreements.

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OMB Fast-Tracks Revised Peer Review Policy

The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) appears unwilling to allow a sober and unhurried review of their revised proposal for government-wide peer review requirements. The revised proposal was published in the Federal Register April 28 with only a 30-day public comment period that is scheduled to end May 28. OMB rejected a request from various public interest groups for a 60-day extension to the public review period.

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eRulemaking Workshops

The School of Public Policy and Public Administration at the George Washington University will host a series of half-day workshops on the federal eRulemaking Initiative June 2 to 4. The purpose of the workshops is to solicit input from various end-user communities with a stake in eRulemaking.

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Proposed Budget Process Changes Are Too Risky

With the budget resolution appearing to be stalled in the Congress, attention may soon turn to changing the overall budget process.

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Update on Long-term Proactive Initiative

We thought you would like to know about an exciting and promising new effort aimed at stimulating the development of a long-term, proactive initiative on federal tax and budget policy.

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One Week Remains for Comments on Critical Infrastructure Information Rule

Only a single week remains to submit comments to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) on the highly controversial Critical Infrastructure Information (CII) rule. DHS published an interim final rule in the Federal Register Feb. 20 with a 90-day public comment period that ends May 20. Even though the agency continues to accept comments on the CII program, the rule went into effect upon publication. DHS has reported to Congress that it has already received several submissions for the CII program.

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Economy and Jobs Watch: Corporate Profits at Record Highs, While Labor Compensation at 38-year Lows

Recent data show a major shift in the balance between corporate income and labor compensation. As a share of the economy labor compensation has not been this low in almost 40 years (since 1966), and after-tax corporate profits are at the highest levels ever recorded by the Bureau of Economic Analysis.

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Economy and Jobs Watch: Employment Struggling to Recover

Employment increased by a steady 288,000 jobs in April, the Department of Labor announced earlier this month. The unemployment rate remains steady at 5.6 percent as well.

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Secret ACLU, NYCLU Lawsuit Tests Constitutionality of Patriot Act

While Congress remains reluctant to extend provisions of the Patriot Act set to expire in 2005, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) and New York Civil Liberties Union revealed that they secretly filed a lawsuit last month challenging the constitutionality of a section of the Patriot Act that gives the government the authority to use "National Security Letters" to subpoena business records without judicial oversight.

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