Publications :  The Watcher :  OMB Watcher Vol. 4: 2003 :  June 30, 2003 Vol. 4 No. 13 : 

In This Issue

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HHS Strikes Again- Stop AIDS Prevention Program Grant Threatened (06/30/2003)
The heavy hand of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) may be bearing down on organizations involved in AIDS prevention programs. The latest action may make continued federal funding contingent on following HHS guidance on conferences and workshops to ensure that such events do not encourage sexual activity, even if funded with private dollars.

Joshua Bolten Confirmed as Director of OMB (06/30/2003)
Last week the Senate confirmed Joshua Bolten as the new Director of the Office of Management and Budget. His confirmation hearing before the Senate Governmental Affairs Committee was on Wednesday, June 25. The Committee reported his nomination out unanimously by voice vote on Thursday, and the full Senate voted to confirm him later that same day without any debate. The Senate’s speed demonstrates that, while some Senators may disagree with his viewpoints, there were no serious questions about Bolten’s qualifications for the position.

Estate Tax Update For June 2003 (06/30/2003)
On June 18th, the House of Representatives passed H.R. 8, the “Death Tax Repeal Permanency Act of 2003,” which would make permanent the repeal of the estate tax, currently scheduled to take place in 2010 (thus the proposed law would take effect only in 2011 and beyond). The bill passed the House by a vote of 264-163, primarily with Republican backing, and with 41 Democrats and four Republicans breaking rank with their colleagues. (Vote Results)

APPROPRIATIONS UPDATE: Let the Cuts Begin (06/30/2003)
Despite a delay in dividing up the overall discretionary spending amount (as determined in the Congressional budget resolution) among the thirteen spending categories (the 302[b] allocations), Congress is quickly moving forward with the FY 2004 appropriations bills. So far, the House Appropriations Committee has approved seven bills; the Senate Appropriations Committee has approved two. Congress intends to pass all the bills by the start of the August recess so they can be finalized before the new fiscal year starts in October. The bills cover appropriations for FY 2004, which runs from October 1, 2003 through September 31, 2004. Once each chamber passes all the bills, the House and Senate must work to reconcile their individual versions. Assuming that agreement can be reached, they are then sent to the President for his signature.

WHAT DO BLOCK GRANTS AND TAX CUTS HAVE IN COMMON? (06/30/2003)
The Bush Budget for FY 2004 proposes major funding changes, including block grants, for a number of low-income programs like Medicaid and the State Child Health Insurance Program (SCHIP), Section 8 Housing Vouchers, Unemployment Insurance, Head Start, Child Welfare and Job Training. The House has begun considering block granting Head Start and Job Training programs. This means that states would get a block of money, sometimes guaranteed for a fixed number of years, to administer programs with less federal oversight. Low-income families and children will lose any entitlement to a minimum federally set safety net that expands when more people are in need. While the safety net is slowing being eroded, block grants would speed up the process. Also, under TANF reauthorization, we expect the "superwaiver" to be revived again – this provision basically unties federal regulations, allowing state governors to waive federal rules in programs including food stamps, public housing, homelessness programs, childcare, job training and adult education.

Economy and Jobs Watch (06/30/2003)
This past week, the Federal Reserve Board (Fed) lowered a key interest rate, suggesting that the Fed is not confident about the quality of the “economic stimulus” in the recently passed tax cut package.

Income Watch: The Rich are Getting Richer?and Getting Bigger Tax Breaks (06/30/2003)
Top 400 are doing well…

The IRS has just released two reports on the status of the wealthiest Americans. The report on the incomes of the highest 400 income tax filers shows a dramatic rise in their income levels.

END OF THE FISCAL YEAR: HOW ARE STATES DOING? (06/30/2003)
The National Governors Association and National Association of State Budget Officers published a sobering report from their latest fiscal survey. The new is very bad indeed. The report finds:

Grassley Re-Engages on Whistleblower Issues (06/30/2003)
Sen. Charles Grassley (R-IA) has recently become more active on the issue of whistleblower protection, investigating a specific whistleblower case and co-sponsoring legislation. Given the Bush administration’s continuing use of secrecy and information restrictions as its primary response to security concerns, the leadership of a key Republican Senator on the issue of disclosing information for the public benefit is particularly welcome and helpful.

House Companion "Restore FOIA" Bill Introduced (06/30/2003)
On June 19th, Rep. Barney Frank (D-MA) introduced the Restoration of Freedom of Information Act of 2003 (H.R. 2526) or “Restore FOIA” in an attempt to address the recent problems of information access. Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-VT) introduced the Senate companion bill (S. 609) in March. The bill amends the Homeland Security Act of 2002 (Public Law 107-296) and provides for the protection of voluntarily furnished confidential information.

DHS Internal Investigation Shows No Misuse of Resources (06/30/2003)
Last week, an internal Department of Homeland Security (DHS) investigation cleared the department of any wrongdoing when it used federal resources to track down Texas Democratic state legislators in a partisan battle last month. As reported in a June 2 Watcher article, the Democrats fled the state in order to avoid quorum for hearings on redistricting. The department’s Air & Marine Interdiction Coordination Center (AMICC) was called in order to track down a private plane belonging to one of the lawmakers.

House Debates Religious Hiring Discrimination for Faith-Based Grantees (06/30/2003)
Should religious organizations that receive federal funds for public social service programs be allowed to use religious criteria in hiring staff to carry out those programs? This controversial issue has appeared in several bills in the House of Representatives since being dropped from the CARE Act, passed by the Senate in the spring. On June 25th, the 62nd anniversary of President Franklin Roosevelt’s groundbreaking Executive Order banning hiring discrimination by defense contractors, Rep. Bobby Scott (D-VA) introduced H.R. 2605, a bill that would overturn Section 4 of President Bush’s December 2002 Executive Order exempting religious groups from the non-discrimination requirement. The Scott bill has 25 co-sponsors.

Two Reports Show Influence of Business Lobbying Spending (06/30/2003)
A study by the Annenberg Public Policy Center released June 19th shows that for legislative issue advertising in the national capitol area in 2001-2002, the side that spends more wins more. In a second report, PoliticalMoneyLine released an analysis of spending for the second half of 2002 that depicts more record breaking spending on lobbying Congress, primarily by business interests.

Recent Campaign Finance Decisions (06/30/2003)
In recent campaign finance decisions, a Federal Election Commission (FEC) ruling allows members of Congress to help associations raise general funds, the AFL-CIO wins a case protecting privacy of internal records used in an FEC investigation, and the Supreme Court rules rules that nonprofits cannot make direct contributions to federal campaigns.

White House Stamps Out EPA Findings on Climate Change (06/30/2003)
The White House forced EPA to drop findings on global climate change from a recent draft report on the state of the environment in what’s become a pattern of politics trumping science.

OSHA Drops Ergonomics Recordkeeping Requirement (06/30/2003)
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) altered standards on June 30 for recording workplace injuries and illnesses, eliminating a provision that required employers to document workers’ ergonomic injuries.

NHTSA Issues Weakened Tire Performance Standards (06/30/2003)
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) recently issued tire performance standards, the first in more than 30 years, that are weaker than those in the agency’s original proposal, which met resistance from industry.


House Committee Moves to Stop 'Country of Origin' Meat Labeling (06/30/2003)
The House Appropriations Committee recently voted to block implementation of a law that requires meat and meat products to bear a label indicating their country of origin.

2001 TRI Data Finally Arrives (06/30/2003)
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is releasing the 2001 Toxic Release Inventory (TRI) today, June 30th, just one day shy of the July 1st reporting deadline for 2002 data. As part of the unveiling, EPA will also release their analysis of the latest TRI data and conduct various briefings for the press, congressional offices, environmental community and industry representatives. In addition to being the latest public release of TRI data the 2001 TRI also marks the first year that releases of lead will be reported and potentially the last year that mining companies report their toxic releases.

Secrecy wins in court, but excesses exposed (06/30/2003)
The courts recently addressed government secrecy in a set of actions that yield mixed results for government efforts to carve out a bigger zone of secrecy in open society in the name of national security.

EPA Releases Public Involvement Policy (06/30/2003)
Christie Whitman issued a new “Public Involvement Policy” on June 6, 2003, right before her departure as Environmental Protection (EPA) Administrator. The policy establishes what public participation is, why it is important, and how it will benefit the agency. Essentially, the public involvement policy is an information policy because the public involvement that EPA is seeking is the collection and inclusion of information in the form of feedback, opinions, and concerns from the public. The EPA also released the "Framework for Implementing EPA's Public Involvement Policy" and EPA's "Response to Public Comments on the Draft 2000 Public Involvement Policy."

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