OMB Watch

Our Issue Areas: Federal Budget Information & Access Nonprofit Advocacy Regulatory Policy

An Assault on Public Protections: Regulatory Policy News in 2008
The federal government's ability — and sometimes inability — to protect the public drew national attention throughout 2008. President Bush's and senior administration officials' aversion to regulation and their penchant for allowing the market to operate unchecked appeared more and more outmoded in the face of the collapse of the financial market, the rising tide of dangerous imported products, and persistent examples of environmental degradation.
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More on Federal Regulatory Policy

2008 Fiscal Policy Year in Review
It's been an exceptional year. 2008 saw not only economic indicators that evoked memories of the Great Depression, but also a record-breaking federal budget deficit. The federal government, through several agencies, activated trillions of dollars in loans and asset guarantees. Congress approved the largest supplemental spending bill in its history and gave the Treasury Department the authority to expend the equivalent of three-fourths of the federal discretionary budget on one sector of the economy. But in many other ways, Congress proved to be unremarkable by staying true to its recent history of underachievement.
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Joe the Discloser -- Government Transparency in 2008
This year's historic presidential campaign introduced the country to a plethora of vocational symbols. It not only featured Joe the Plumber, but also Tito the Bricklayer, Rose the Teacher, and more. There were also a few Joes and Janes who had prominent roles in the restriction — and in a few cases, the expansion — of public information that may have gone unnoticed during the year. Hopefully for the last time in the life of our Republic, the government transparency events of 2008 are presented according to vocational nomenclature.
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More on Government Openness

'Twas the Night before New Year
'Twas the night before New Year
And all through the Nation
The people were hopeful
Looking toward Inauguration.

Nonprofits were happy
Their voices might be heard
And silencing through
Rules and surveillance may be deterred.

We've been taking great care
To preserve nonprofit speech rights
Now we reflect on the past year
And the battles we had to fight.
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More on Nonprofit Speech Rights

Groups Make Recommendations for Presidential Transition and Beyond
Several diverse groups have released or are formulating a variety of recommendations for President-elect Obama and the 111th Congress. These recommendations, which focus on issues of government transparency, regulatory reform and public protections, government performance, and charities and counterterrorism, were developed through various collaborative means. They are intended to provide Obama and Congress a roadmap toward restoring a workable, open, and effective federal government based on the concept of "We the People."
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Read the Government Transparency Recommendations

Read the Regulatory Reform Recommendations

Seen but not Heard Available on Amazon.com
We've made an important nonprofit policy advocacy resource easier to find online! OMB Watch has worked with The Aspen Institute to make Seen but not Heard: Strengthening Nonprofit Advocacy available on Amazon.com. Published in late 2007, the book serves as a comprehensive analysis of the results of the Strengthening Nonprofit Advocacy Project, a joint research effort of OMB Watch, Tufts University, and the Center for Lobbying in the Public Interest. The book should be of interest to anyone concerned with nonprofits, as well as anyone who makes policy and tries to influence it. It is written from the perspective of one who believes it is right, proper, and beneficial for nonprofits to engage in the formation of public policy.
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Purchase Seen but not Heard

More on the Importance of Nonprofit Advocacy

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