Government Matters

Experts Divided on the Digital Divide

For the past few months, a steady stream of articles, studies, and analyses have suggested evidence that digital divide skeptics say underscores their contention that technology access gaps are not a policy problem, while also suggesting that if it were a problem, the problem's really not that bad. Read this NPTalk discussion -- Is there legitimate cause for celebration, or is more evidence suggesting a problem whose actual implications are more difficult to pinpoint than previously thought?

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The Need to Reduce Risks Demonstrated

A recent chemical accident reinforced the importance of Sen. Jon Corzine’s (D-NJ) pending legislation, the Chemical Security Act (S.1602). In Crystal City, MO, a hose used to remove chlorine from freight cars ruptured creating a toxic cloud that sickened dozens. The leak began around 9:30 in the morning on August 14, 2002 and was stopped around noon. Even though light wind and steady rain kept the cloud from spreading beyond the relatively sparsely populated area near the leak, hundreds of people were evacuated and over 50 people were treated for exposure.

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GAO Report Recommends IRS Improve PAC Disclosure Web Site

The "Stealth PAC" law of 2000 was meant to inform the public about the sources and uses of soft money in federal elections. It required political action committees (PACS) to disclose their existence and to report soft money contributions and expenditures. It also requires the IRS to post information returns filed by political action committees on the web. However, the information has not been posted in a searchable, useful format.

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Church Electioneering Bill Introduced in Senate

Sen. Bob Smith (R-NH) has introduced a Senate version of the "Houses of Worship Political Speech Protection Act" (S. 2886) which is sponsored in the House by Rep. Walter Jones (R-NC) (H.R. 2357). This legislation would allow churches to engage in express electoral advocacy, which is currently prohibited for all 501(c)(3) charities, including churches.

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Bush Makes Controversial Recess Appointment to USDA

President Bush took the opportunity while Congress was in recess to appoint controversial nominee Thomas Dorr as undersecretary of the U. S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), which will allow him to serve for a year without Senate confirmation. Recess appointments are not uncommon for contentious nominees that lack bipartisan support when the Senate and executive branch are controlled by opposing parties. Yet President Bush went even further than most presidents in appointing Dorr, because Dorr did not even have the support of fellow Republicans.

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Bush Signs E.O. on Regulatory Impacts on Small Business

On August 14, President Bush signed a new executive order that directs federal agencies to establish "written procedures and policies" to "thoroughly review" the potential impacts of new regulation on small businesses, small governmental jurisdictions, and small organizations.

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Administration Issues Weakened Medical Privacy Rules

Over the objections of privacy advocates, the Bush administration on August 14 issued new standards on the handling of patient medical records, replacing protections adopted in the last month of the Clinton administration that were strongly opposed by HMOs, insurance companies, and pharmaceuticals.

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Senate Finds Compromise on Information in Homeland Security

Shortly after the House passed a Homeland Security Act that contained broad restrictive information provisions, the Senators on the Government Affairs Committee reached a compromise on narrower language. The final House provisions included a broad new Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) exemption, with extremely vague definitions, for information voluntarily submitted to the new Department, granted corporations civil immunity, preempted all state and local open records laws, and made it a crime for any federal employee to release such information to the public.

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Why Federal Budget Rules Matter

As we often try to remember on these pages, the federal budget, which may superficially appear to be merely a convoluted collection of insignificant numbers, is actually the decoder ring to a better understanding of our country’s real priorities -- since not a lot happens to improve a problem without spending money, the federal budget reveals which problems our country’s policy makers are working to improve. Even less understood and farther removed from our daily lives are the intricacies of federal budget rules. These rules, which govern how the House and Senate must work to craft the country’s annual budget, are in place to ensure that sufficient time is given to debating and developing the a course for tackling the nation’s problems.

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FEC Releases Draft Rules on "Issue Advocacy"

The second set of proposed regulations implementing this year's new campaign finance reform law will focus on "electioneering communications," also known as sham issue ads. At its August 1 meeting, the Federal Election Commission (FEC) released draft rules, which will be published in the Federal Register on August 7. Final regulations are scheduled to be ready by late September, and will become effective the day after this fall's elections.

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