Featured Articles

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Keeping an Eye on Recovery Act Implementation

Just before the passage of the 2009 stimulus package, OMB Watch kicked into high gear to make sure the implementation of the Recovery Act is fully transparent, responsive to those most in need, and accountable to the American people. OMB Watch believes that taxpayers deserve transparency and accountability in all recovery efforts, not simply to ensure that money isn’t wasted, but also to make sure money is reaching those most in need.

Learn more about our Recovery Act accountability efforts on our Fiscal Stewardship page. Additional information is available on the Coalition for an Accountable Recovery’s (CAR) website.

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2

Consumer Product Agency under New Leadership

The Senate recently confirmed Inez Tenenbaum, President Obama’s pick to chair the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), the federal regulator of everything from toys to toasters. Tenenbaum’s presence will likely cause a shift in the way the agency operates, including a greater focus on public protection.






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3

Open Government Directive Experiment Wraps up July 6

On Monday, July 6, the Obama administration plans to conclude the third and final phase of its innovative online process to solicit public participation in the creation of an Open Government Directive. The process is the first of its kind for public involvement in executive branch policymaking.

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4

Supreme Court Upholds "Preclearance" Provision in 1965 Voting Rights Act

The U.S. Supreme Court upheld the "preclearance" provision in Northwest Austin Municipal Utility District No. 1 (NAMUDNO) v. Holder, a case in which a small utility district in Texas challenged Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act of 1965. Section 5, reauthorized by Congress in 2006, applies to all or parts of 16 states. It requires those states to get federal approval before changing election rules or procedures, due to past laws and practices that discriminated against and disenfranchised racial minorities. This provision is referred to as the "preclearance" provision.

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Calls for Congress to Loosen LSC Restrictions

On June 25, the Senate Appropriations Committee approved the FY 2010 appropriations bill of the Commerce, Justice, Science and Related Agencies (CJS) subcommittee. This includes funding for the Legal Services Corporation (LSC), the nonprofit organization that provides grants to legal-aid charities around the country. The bill appropriates $400 million for LSC. Notably, it removes restrictions on LSC grantees' state, local, and private funds.

(Amanda Adams 07/02/09)

HHS Reinstates Medicaid Benefits Removed under Bush

This week, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) rolled back three Bush administration regulations designed to limit Medicaid services.

(Matthew Madia 07/02/09)

IT Dashboard Provides Detailed Look at Tech Spending

On Tuesday, June 30, Vivek Kundra, the new federal Chief Information Officer, unveiled the IT dashboard, part of the newly redesigned USAspending.gov. The dashboard is actually pretty amazing, as it lets users examine every federal IT project, by agency, and shows whether each project is on schedule and on budget, along with a link to a detailed list of performance metrics for the project. It also has a tab for analysis of the data, which right now is limited to a graph of spending by agency over time and a chart showing a breakdown of the current year's budget. The site also allows third-parties to download XML versions of the data, a feature which I hope will now be standard on all government sites.

(Sam Rosen-Amy 07/02/09)

A Not-so-Free Pass to Pollute

With the passage of the Waxman-Markey bill (HR 2454) in the House, the U.S. is one step closer towards the implementation of a major effort to reduce greenhouse gas emissions (GSGs).  Despite its inclusion of a cap-and-trade system, famed Harvard economist, Greg Mankiw, recently called the bill a "missed opportunity" because it gives away a significant number of very valuable pollution permits instead of using an auction system.

(Jocelyn Yin 07/02/09)

Counting Chickens Before They Hatch: A Quick Lesson on Recovery Act Spending

One of the trickiest aspects of tracking Recovery Act spending is a very basic one: figuring out how much money has been spent so far. Theoretically, it should be pretty easy. Find out how much the federal government has spent because of the Recovery Act, and, well, that's how much has been spent on it. By that estimate, according to Recovery.gov, we've already spent almost $53 billion on the recovery, which isn't particularly impressive.

Unfortunately, though, it's not that easy.

(Sam Rosen-Amy 07/01/09)

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