| In This Issue |
Updates For Your Information
Read the Watcher in Full in Easy-to-Print PDF Format
Read the Watcher in Full in Easy-to-Print PDF Format
Federal Budget
Fair Taxes for All is Back!
FY 2003 Appropriations Coming to a Close -- Finally
State Fiscal Crises' More News is Bad News
The Estate Tax - Reform It, Don't Repeal It!
NPP Releases State of the States Report; ITEP Shows Who Pays
Information & Access
Workshop on EPA's Assessment Factors
Emerging Coalition Against Government Secrecy
Nonprofit Issues
IRS Offers Nonprofit Workshops
Scaled Down Church Electioneering Bill Introduced
Sentences for Violations of BCRA Set
NPTalk Turns to NPAction; New Features Added
Regulatory Matters
Senate Rejects Amendment Blocking Clean Air Rollback
Trading Away the Clean Water Act?
EPA Announces Plans to Withdraw Protection of Wetlands
Administration Advances E-Rulemaking
Read the Watcher in Full in Easy-to-Print PDF Format (01/27/2003)
For your convenience, the OMB Watcher is also available in full as a PDF document -- this will allow for viewing and printing of the entire issue in one document.
Fair Taxes for All is Back! (01/27/2003)
In the face of Bush’s new tax proposal (misleadingly billed as a “growth and jobs plan to strengthen the economy”), the Fair Taxes For All Coalition has been reconvened by People for the American Way, the National Women’s Law Center, the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights, and the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME). A petition is being circulated opposing the Bush tax cut proposal:
FY 2003 Appropriations Coming to a Close -- Finally (01/27/2003)
On January 23, on a vote of 69-29, the Senate passed H.J. Res. 2, a $390 billion omnibus appropriations bill in an effort to begin bringing the FY 2003 appropriations season to a close. Since Congress was unable to resolve its budgeting differences last fall during its election fervor, this bill combines into one large bill the 11 appropriations bills that were not completed before Congress adjourned in December. (The timeline for this appropriations bill was so rushed, in fact, that Senate and House Republicans agreed to completely bypass the House, which has the authority to originate all spending bills, and allow the Senate to begin action on the omnibus spending bill.)
State Fiscal Crises' More News is Bad News (01/27/2003)
Local news and national papers alike have been replete with the troubling real results of the growing state budget shortfalls. These stories have broken down the astounding figures – $65 billion and $70-$85 billion budget gaps in FY 2003 and FY 2004, respectively – into their real, daily effects on ordinary citizens. By now, Kentucky’s decision to release prisoners before their sentences were up has become the poster-child for desperate states and their drastic budget-balancing measures. In other similar high-profile cost-saving efforts, some school districts in Oregon and Colorado have turned to a 4-day school week; others have stopped buying new textbooks; still others have cut school athletic and marching band programs; in some districts in Oklahoma, the schools have stopped hiring substitute teachers and are, instead, looking to parents to fill in for teachers. According to the International Association of Firefighters, the state and local budget gaps have resulted in layoffs, station closings, and other reductions in staff, even as new Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge calls on local contributions for domestic security.
The Estate Tax - Reform It, Don't Repeal It! (01/27/2003)
On January 13, 2003, Responsible Wealth held a press conference on preserving the federal estate tax, which featured William H. Gates, Sr., the co-chair of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, George Soros, chair of Soros Fund Management, Sen. Kent Conrad (D-ND), and Chuck Collins, co-founder of United for a Fair Economy.
NPP Releases State of the States Report; ITEP Shows Who Pays (01/27/2003)
The National Priorities Project recently released two comprehensive reports that provide very useful state-by-state, as well as nation-wide, data. The Institute for Taxation and Economic Policy's Who Pays? A Distributional Analysis of the Tax Systems in all Fifty States shows that, on average, state and local tax systems require the poorest taxpayers to pay the highest effective tax rates.
Workshop on EPA's Assessment Factors (01/27/2003)
A workshop was held on January 21, 2003, to discuss scientific and technical aspects of the appropriateness and utility of the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) recently developed Draft Assessment Factors for Evaluating the Quality of Information from External Sources. The Assessment Factors represent an additional effort by EPA in response the Data Quality Act. EPA finalized its data quality guidelines in October 2002. These Assessment Factors are intended to represent the types of considerations that EPA takes into account when evaluating the quality of information that is submitted voluntarily to the agency or otherwise obtained by EPA from non-agency sources for potential use in developing a policy or regulatory decision.
IRS Offers Nonprofit Workshops (01/27/2003)
The Internal Revenue Service is offering free workshops for small and mid-sized nonprofits in twelve locations around the country. The workshops will cover exemption filing requirements, public disclosure obligations and other topics. Pre-registration by phone or email is required. For specifics see the IRS website.
Scaled Down Church Electioneering Bill Introduced (01/27/2003)
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Last fall, after the House defeated a bill that would have allowed religious organizations to engage in partisan electioneering, sponsor Rep. Walter Jones (R-NC) promised to re-introduce the bill in the next Congress. On January 8 he followed through by introducing the Houses of Worship Free Speech Restoration Act, H.R. 235), which attempts to address concerns raised about last year’s bill by narrowing the scope of what it allows. It currently has thirteen co-sponsors and has been referred to the Ways and Means Committee.
Sentences for Violations of BCRA Set (01/27/2003)
The United States Sentencing Commission has proposed interim sentencing guidelines for increased penalties for violations of campaign finance law, incorporating requirements from last year’s Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act (BCRA). OMB Watch filed comments in December 2002 asking that the emergency guidelines treat illegal electioneering communications more leniently than illegal campaign contributions or soft money expenditures, since “contributions of money can only be meant to influence an election. Public speech on an issue, on the other hand, is meant to influence public policy.” The interim guidelines do not make the requested distinction. However, two Commissioners reportedly made statements indicating recognition that some violations of BCRA are meant to further a cause, and do not have a corrupt purpose.
NPTalk Turns to NPAction; New Features Added (01/27/2003)
We wish to thank everyone who supported NPTalk during its first four years. We are pleased to announce NPTalk's integration with NPAction, OMB Watch's online resource for nonprofit advocacy.
Senate Rejects Amendment Blocking Clean Air Rollback (01/27/2003)
The Senate narrowly rejected an amendment on January 22 that would have delayed a rule weakening the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) New Source Review (NSR) program while the National Academy of Sciences evaluates its potential impact on air pollution and human health.
Trading Away the Clean Water Act? (01/27/2003)
A new Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) policy, announced on January 13, will allow industrial polluters to buy trading credits instead of reducing water pollution.
EPA Announces Plans to Withdraw Protection of Wetlands (01/27/2003)
The Bush administration unveiled plans on January 15 that would withdraw federal protection for as much as 20 million acres of wetlands, such as marshes, swamps and bogs.
Administration Advances E-Rulemaking (01/27/2003)
The Bush administration unveiled a new web site on January 23 that allows the public to view and comment on federal regulatory proposals, searchable by agency or keyword.
Emerging Coalition Against Government Secrecy (01/27/2003)
Through claims of executive privilege, permitting industry to keep secret the information that companies voluntarily share with government, creating more loopholes to the Freedom of Information Act, and keeping information critical to environmental protection off the Internet, this administration and Congress are presiding over a new and unprecedented expansion of government secrecy. Recent interviews conducted by OMB Watch indicate that librarians, journalists, free speech and privacy advocates are increasingly concerned with the federal government's growing power to shield industry from the sunlight of disclosure, to withhold data useful in protecting wetlands, rivers, and public health, and to make decisions out of the glare of public scrutiny. In October, OMB Watch released a working paper, “The Bush Administration’s Secrecy Policy: A Call to Action to Protect Democratic Values.” To comment on this paper, please email Rick Blum, Information & Access project. Watch this space in the coming months as we bring you updates and information on ways you can help protect our freedoms and stop this unprecedented attack on our fundamental liberties.