On March 6, Sens. Jim Jeffords (I-VT), Barbara Boxer (D-CA), Frank Lautenberg (D-NJ) and Paul Sarbanes (D-MD) submitted to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) a request for correction of information under the Data Quality Act. This is the first data quality challenge submitted by members of Congress. The request addresses a Modification of National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit deadline for storm water discharges by oil and gas construction activity that disturbs one to five acres of land. The EPA proposed extending the deadline for storm water discharge permits for oil and gas construction for two years based upon information from the Department of Energy (DOE) about the oil and gas industry. The senators argue that the DOE information does not meet EPA’s Data Quality standards and cannot be utilized in such an important decision and therefore, that EPA should maintain its original deadline.


Read the Watcher in Full in Easy-to-Print PDF Format (03/25/2003)
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.

Technology Opportunities Grant Availability for FY 2003 (03/24/2003)
The National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) released a notice of availability regarding the federal Technology Opportunities Program (TOP). Nonprofits are encouraged to apply for the more than $14 million in funds to help deliver the public interest promise of telecommunications technology to underserved areas and communities in America. Applications are due by 5 p.m. EDT April 23, 2003. Application information is available on the TOP site, via e-mail at: top@ntia.doc.gov or by calling (202) 482-2048.


House Passes Budget Resolution of Huge Tax Cuts, Program Cuts; Senate Votes Weds. (03/24/2003)

The House passed its FY 2004 budget resolution last week, officially kicking off the Congressional budget debates for the coming fiscal year. The Senate voted to preserve all but $100 billion of the President’s tax cut, but won’t complete work on the budget resolution until Wednesday, March 26. Though the budget resolutions of each chamber reflect much of the President’s own budget proposals, and especially his $726 billion tax cut, neither resolution passed without a great deal of effort among Republican leaders to ensure that Congressional members voted together.

Estate Tax Repeal Supporters Losing Ground (03/24/2003)
In a move viewed by many as truly outrageous, Sen. Jon Kyl (R-AZ) introduced an amendment to the Senate Budget Committee’s budget resolution on March 19 – the day the country committed itself to billions of dollars for the war and its aftermath in Iraq – to accelerate the repeal of the estate tax by one year.

State Reports Show Job Losses in Last 18 Months (03/24/2003)
A new report issued by the Minority Staff of the House Appropriations Committee reveals the total number of jobs lost in each state since January 2001, when President Bush took office.

NRDC Comments Threatened with Industry Data Quality Challenge (03/24/2003)

The Center for Regulatory Effectiveness (CRE) has submitted comments to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) that threaten to challenge the data quality of comments submitted by the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC), should EPA use them. The NRDC submitted comments to EPA on its draft risk assessment for land-applied biosolids that stated the draft risk assessment underestimated risks from dioxin and related compounds. CRE claims that the NRDC comments contain substantial inaccuracies, omissions, and biases, and lack reproducibility. These comments are precedent-setting in two ways: it is the first effort to use the Data Quality Act to address third party submitted information; perhaps more troubling, this effort also challenges information before it is used or relied upon by the agency.


Model State Bills for Data Quality and Access (03/24/2003)
Apparently initial efforts have begun to develop data quality and data access legislation at the state level. OMB Watch has obtained model legislation for both bills that was reportedly drafted by the The Center for Regulatory Effectiveness (CRE), a strong supporter of both policy efforts at the federal level. Both state level model bills are clearly patterned after federal policies. The state data quality bill borrows heavily from the just recently completed Federal Data Quality Guidelines. The state data access bill has been developed from the Shelby Amendment, which required federal grant recipients to provide access to their underlying data through the Freedom of Information Act. Although no organizations seem to be openly advocating these model bills and no states have introduced them, it is disconcerting to be considering duplicating these hotly contested federal policies at the state level when they have not been implemented long enough to establish their benefits. Additionally the model bills are more detailed and restrictive then the federal policies they build upon. OMB Watch has produced an in-depth analysis of the model state bills.

Istook-Type Gag on Advocacy in House Disability Education Bill (03/24/2003)

Once again legislation that would restrict nonprofit advocacy has reared its ugly head in the House of Representatives. The legislation is reminiscent of the Istook amendments that would have silenced the advocacy voice of charities, but was stopped by a firestorm of protest by nonprofits across the country. That firestorm may be needed once more.

IRS Audits of Lobbying Prompt Response from Charities (03/24/2003)
Over the past few weeks several 501(c)(3) organizations in the midwest have been notified by the IRS that they will be audited in what appears to be selective targeting of charities that elect to use the expenditure test to measure their allowable lobbying budgets. While no written verification is yet available, three leading advocates of charity lobbying – the Alliance for Justice, Charity Lobbying in the Public Interest and OMB Watch – have written IRS Tax Exempt and Government Entities Director Evelyn Petschek “to express our grave concern and dismay.”

Faith-Based Initiative Update (03/24/2003)
The House of Representatives is continuing to move forward with its faith-based agenda despite the fact that the CARE Act is stalled in the Senate amid controversy over issues relating to hiring discrimination, protection of beneficiaries, preemption of state and local laws and the role of intermediary organizations. (See March 4, 2003 Watcher for background.) Draft amendments are still circulating, but the Administration has made it clear it will veto the bill if it passes with a prohibition on religious discrimination for hiring in program positions paid for with federal funds.



Pentagon Seeks Exemptions From Key Environmental Laws (03/24/2003)
The Department of Defense(DOD) is seeking very broad legislative exemptions from a host of environmental laws, claiming that military readiness has been adversely impacted, while Deputy Defense Secretary Paul Wolfowitz is asking military leaders to submit cases in which President Bush could issue executive waivers.

OSHA Issues Unenforceable Ergonomics Guidelines (03/24/2003)
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) recently issued final voluntary guidelines for the prevention of musculoskeletal disorders in the nursing home industry, reinforcing the administration’s unwillingness to seriously address injuries caused by repetitive motion -- the most pressing health and safety issue confronting the workplace today.

Controversial Water Rule Withdrawn (03/24/2003)
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) recently withdrew a controversial rule that would have significantly altered the Total Maximum Daily Loads (TMDL) program, targeting clean up of polluted waters.

Audit finds mixed agency response to Ashcroft FOIA Memo (03/24/2003)

Federal agencies showed varied responses to Attorney General John Ashcroft's memo instructing agencies to withhold documents whenever legally possible under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA). The audit concludes agencies' implementation of FOIA requests is in disarray, with agencies failing to provide basic information to help the public file requests (such as agency FOIA contacts), failure to acknowledge requests within 20 days as FOIA requires, excessive delays and backlogs in responding to requests, and inconsistent appeals processes. The Ashcroft memo has impacted some agencies more than others.


Administration Denies Documents to Senate (03/24/2003)

Recently the Bush Administration asserted that numerous documents about changes in the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) fill policy being requested by the Senate Permanent Investigations Subcommittee would be withheld citing "deliberative process privilege."

FOIA, Access to Hearings at Greatest Risk from Secrecy (03/24/2003)
Two useful resources from journalists' document efforts to close the doors of government as the public continues to worry about the safety of our communities.

Government Lied in Landmark Secrecy Case (03/24/2003)
A recent declassification of documents indicates that the Government lied in a landmark secrecy case. Over 250 pages of declassified documents relating to a 1948 Air Force plane crash have revealed that the accident resulted from poor maintenance and training rather than some other cause that had to be kept secret for national security purposes as the government has claimed. Relatives of several of the men killed in the plane crash filed a lawsuit trying to get information about the crash immediately afterward. The case (United States v. Reynolds) was argued all the way to the Supreme Court and resulted in the records remaining sealed. The Reynolds decision has been used frequently to justify strict limits on the release of government information, including in recent homeland security cases.


Illegal Confiscation Prompts Concern Over Secrecy (03/24/2003)
The Associated Press recently discovered that a package sent between two reporters last September was illegally confiscated by the Customs Service and FBI, claiming it contained “sensitive” information. The document which prompted concern was an unclassified 1995 FBI lab report that has been made public in two open court cases. No warrant was obtained for the seizure and AP was never notified. This incident is alarming because the entire process of how and why the package was seized has been kept secret. Federal Express, Customs, and the FBI all ignored protocols established to alert people when packages are sequestered.


Press, Government "Dialogue" Eases Crackdown on Leaks (03/24/2003)
The Bush Administration has backed away from a crackdown on government leaks of classified information in part due to occasional behind-the-scenes meetings attended by government officials and press representatives.


New Website Comparing State Openness Laws (03/24/2003)

The Marion Brechner Citizen Access Project recently announced the launch of its new web site. The new website compares openness laws among all the states, with a strong focus on how states have limited access to information in response to terrorism and security concerns.


NM House Passes Resolution Boosting Hometown Liberties (03/24/2003)
New Mexico's House of Representatives this month passed a resolution critical of the federal government's strategies for fighting terrorism, strongly suggesting that the federal government's efforts to make Americans safer unnecessarily infringes on civil liberties and that federal secrecy impedes the state's ability to assess "the effect of federal antiterrorism efforts on" the public.


Michigan Counties Use FOIA for Antiterror Plans (03/24/2003)
Five Michigan counties have been forced to file requests under the state’s Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) in order to obtain documents which the State Police are keeping secret. The efforts, led by Oakland County, aim to obtain state antiterrorism plans in order to strengthen their own emergency readiness plans. A number of requests for the information have been filed over the past year but have gone unfulfilled, prompting the counties to file under FOIA. While FOIA requests are usually filed by the public to gain access to government information, government can also utilize the laws.


Secret Meeting in Florida (03/24/2003)

The Florida Senate held a secret meeting March 6, 2003, the first time in several decades that the press and public were unable to attend a Senate committee meeting. Senators were briefed about a state database called Threat-Net, a Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE) counter-terrorism database. FDLE Commissioner Tim Moore asked for the closed meeting for security reasons, although senators attending had no special security clearance. Senate President Jim King (R) defended the meeting saying, “we're involved in some stuff that doesn't fit within the purview of normalcy. We are dealing with things that have to do with war, confidential information.''