| In This Issue |
Federal Budget
House Committee Drops Balanced Budget Amendment -- for Now
Economy and Jobs Watch: The Lost Years -- by the Numbers
Congress Spends $146 Billion To Extend Certain Tax Cuts Without Offsets
Large Corporations May Receive More Tax Breaks
Continuing Resolution Passes, Omnibus Bill Expected
House Committee Drops Balanced Budget Amendment -- for Now
Economy and Jobs Watch: The Lost Years -- by the Numbers
Congress Spends $146 Billion To Extend Certain Tax Cuts Without Offsets
Large Corporations May Receive More Tax Breaks
Continuing Resolution Passes, Omnibus Bill Expected
Information & Access
Congressional Report on Data Quality Act Supports OMB Watch Findings
Court Strikes Down Part of the Patriot Act
Kyl Proposes Expanding the Patriot Act
Fox Guarding the Clearinghouse on Contracts Data
Wyden Targets Over-Classification
Senate Declines to Act on Corzine's Chemical Security Amendment
USAID Withholds Whistleblower Information, Legislation Moves Forward
Nonprofit Issues
Bill to Regulate Independent Political Committees Introduced in Congress
FEC Appeals Decision Overturning Reform Rules
Senate Finance Committee Considers Nonprofit Accountability
Conferees Consider Rights, Restrictions on Electioneering
Letter to the Editor and Response Regarding Aug. 9 Article on New CFC Rules
Regulatory Matters
States Take Lead on Emissions Standards
House Committee Blasts FDA for Delay on Antidepressant Warnings
Industry Influence Weakens USDA Dietary Guidelines
Court Declines to Bar Regionally Restricted Vehicle Recalls
Bill to Regulate Independent Political Committees Introduced in Congress (10/08/2004)
The "527 Reform Act of 2004", introduced on September 22, would limit soft money for independent political groups, but does not clearly exempt advocacy groups exempt under Section 501(c) of the tax code.
House Committee Drops Balanced Budget Amendment -- for Now (10/04/2004)
The House Judiciary Committee convened in mid-September to consider a constitutional amendment to balance the budget but failed to make headway on the proposal. When the committee met Sept. 22 to debate and vote on the measure, Democrats clearly demonstrated their opposition and offered several amendments, including one by John Conyers (D-MI) to exempt Social Security. The committee adjourned before voting on the amendment, and upon reconvening did not have a quorum, and thus could not complete the vote. There was brief speculation that the amendment would go straight to the House floor; however, it appears House Republicans have dropped their work on the amendment for now.
Economy and Jobs Watch: The Lost Years -- by the Numbers (10/04/2004)
Over the past 4 years there has been a dramatic shift in the nation's fiscal policy. Has the new strategy worked? The numbers indicate it has not.
Congress Spends $146 Billion To Extend Certain Tax Cuts Without Offsets (10/04/2004)
Congress voted to extend so-called "middle-class" tax reductions last week, and chose not to offset any of the cost of the $146 billion measure. In addition, the bill also includes $13 billion in tax cuts for businesses. When factoring in the additional interest costs, the bill will increase the deficit by over $200 billion.
Large Corporations May Receive More Tax Breaks (10/04/2004)
The House and Senate continue to move forward on a substantial corporate tax bill. The Foreign Sales Corporation and Extraterritorial Income Exclusion (FSC/ETI) bill is designed to remove certain corporate tax subsidies that were ruled illegal by the World Trade Organization. Repealing the subsidies would increase federal revenue by approximately $50 billion over the next 10 years. (The bill is currently in conference. See a summary of the differences between the House and Senate version.)
Continuing Resolution Passes, Omnibus Bill Expected (10/04/2004)
After much speculation, and on the final day of the fiscal year, the House and Senate passed a continuing resolution (CR) (H.J. Res. 107) to fund non-defense government programs and agencies, and other expiring programs, at current levels through Nov. 20. The CR was needed because Congress failed to perform one of its key duties on time -- the appropriation of funds for government programs. Democratic Whip Steny Hoyer (MD) observed, "The Republicans' failure to pass appropriation bills on time has real-world consequences to real people, to states, localities, municipalities, and every individual."
Congressional Report on Data Quality Act Supports OMB Watch Findings (10/04/2004)
The Congressional Research Service (CRS) recently updated a report on the Data Quality Act (DQA) entitled The Information Quality Act: OMB's Guidance and Initial Implementation." The report summarizes the history of the DQA from its passage as an appropriations rider, through development of information quality guidelines, to the Office of Management and Budget's (OMB) annual report to Congress. Several of the report's conclusions coincide with observations and recommendations made by OMB Watch in an analysis of OMB's annual DQA report to Congress.
Court Strikes Down Part of the Patriot Act (10/04/2004)
Federal District Judge Victor Marrero ruled Sept. 29 that surveillance powers under the USA PATRIOT Act were unconstitutional, marking a significant victory for civil liberties groups.
Kyl Proposes Expanding the Patriot Act (10/04/2004)
Sen. Jon Kyl (R-AZ) introduced an amendment to the Senate intelligence reform bill that would heighten government secrecy and threaten civil liberties. The amendment seeks to build upon the secret surveillance powers granted to the government under the Patriot Act.
Fox Guarding the Clearinghouse on Contracts Data (10/04/2004)
On October 1, a downsized government office turned over key data on roughly $290 billion worth of government contracts to a private company to provide online access. Critics on the left and right predict this move could raise barriers to public disclosure and undermine the public's ability to hold federal contractors and government officials accountable for the way taxpayer dollars are spent.
Wyden Targets Over-Classification (10/04/2004)
Sen. Ron Wyden (D-OR) has successfully attached an amendment aimed at curbing excessive government secrecy to the Senate's intelligence reform legislation. Wyden proposes creating an independent review to provide periodic oversight to the system and limit excessive classification of documents.
Senate Declines to Act on Corzine's Chemical Security Amendment (10/04/2004)
In an effort to break the congressional logjam on chemical security, Sen. Jon Corzine (D-NJ) has offered a piece of compromise legislation as an amendment to the intelligence reform bill. Unfortunately, the amendment was ruled non-germane to the bill and rejected from consideration.
USAID Withholds Whistleblower Information, Legislation Moves Forward (10/04/2004)
The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) is accused of firing a whistleblower and withholding from Congress his information on environmental noncompliance in multi-national development bank projects.
FEC Appeals Decision Overturning Reform Rules (10/04/2004)
The Federal Election Commission moved Oct. 1 in the U.S. District Court for a stay of the court's ruling holding unlawful various FEC implementing regulations for the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act of 2002 (BCRA). The FEC's motion is the latest development in the ongoing legal battle over campaign finance reform, aspects of which could have profound implications for nonprofits.
Senate Finance Committee Considers Nonprofit Accountability (10/04/2004)
The Senate Finance Committee has sent a letter to Independent Sector (IS), a coalition of 600 member organizations and foundations, asking IS to convene a national panel of nonprofit representatives to recommend legislative options to increase nonprofit accountability. The Sept. 22 letter follows Finance Committee hearings on nonprofit practices held in July that examined allegations of excessive compensation, tax shelters, and Internal Revenue Service (IRS) noncompliance. Committee staff released draft proposals for reform during the summer, and nonprofit groups provided input and responses.
Conferees Consider Rights, Restrictions on Electioneering (10/04/2004)
Opponents of church electioneering are breathing a tentative sigh of relief. On Sept. 29, Rep. Bill Thomas told the first meeting of conferees that he would not consider amendments to a discussion draft of his proposed version of the corporate tax bill. The chair of the conference committee on is opposing any amendments to that bill that were not provisions or modifications to the previous already-passed Senate or House versions. However, there is still concern that the conferees could include language similar to H.R. 235 , the "Free Speech Restoration Act" which would allow religious organizations to support or oppose candidates for public office without losing their tax-exempt status.
Letter to the Editor and Response Regarding Aug. 9 Article on New CFC Rules (10/04/2004)
To the Editor:
During my last few years on active duty service, I watched the number of charities registered with CFC [the Combined Federal Campaign] grow dramatically. And many of them sounded dubious. Yet we were encouraged to donate, even at our meager wages. This applied to federal civil service employees as well. However, I fully support the new CFC rule that charities have to certify that they don't support terrorism or organizations that do. It's already been proven in the national media that many benign-sounding charities were actually funding groups that continue terrorism worldwide. This has been forced on Corporate CEOs and was the same policy forced on South Africa. The policy is not misguided, but long overdue.
States Take Lead on Emissions Standards (10/04/2004)
Fearing the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) may stall or weaken federal regulation on diesel emissions, 11 states and the District of Columbia announced on Sept. 29 plans to implement California's standards for diesel fuel emissions as a backup to the federal regulation promulgated by EPA.
House Committee Blasts FDA for Delay on Antidepressant Warnings (10/04/2004)
Food and Drug Administration officials were forced before a House committee to defend their choice not to respond with precautionary measures despite mounting evidence from as early as 1996 that antidepressants could be causing increases in suicidality (both suicidal ideation and suicide attempts) in children.
Industry Influence Weakens USDA Dietary Guidelines (10/04/2004)
The Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee, which includes seven members with strong industry connections, recently released its recommendations for an update of Dietary Guidelines for Americans. Not surprisingly, the committee's recommendations for controlling intake of carbohydrates, sugars and fats were vague and weak, prompting 25 nutritionists to send a letter to HHS calling for stronger, clearer language.
Court Declines to Bar Regionally Restricted Vehicle Recalls (10/04/2004)
The agency charged with keeping motor vehicles safe and reliable has been allowing automakers to restrict vehicle defect recalls to selected states rather than conduct recalls nationwide. Now a federal court has declined to bar such regionally restricted recalls.