Publications :  The Watcher :  OMB Watcher Vol. 6: 2005 :  August 8, 2005 Vol.6, No.16 : 

In This Issue

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Estate Tax Vote Slated for September -- Take Action Now! (08/08/2005)
The long run-up to legislative action in the Senate on the estate tax appears to be coming to a close. The day before the chamber recessed in July, Majority Leader Bill Frist (R-TN) filed a motion to proceed to consider H.R. 8, the House passed estate tax repeal bill. This bill will be one of the first items the Senate is expected to take up when it returns in September, and it is quite likely that this repeal bill will ultimately serve as a vehicle for a bad estate tax reform proposal by Sen. Jon Kyl (R-AZ).

Chemical Security Legislation to Address Transport Issues Introduced (08/08/2005)
Sen. Joseph Biden, Jr. (D-DE) introduced a comprehensive chemical security bill addressing shipments of hazardous materials entitled "The Hazardous Materials Vulnerability Reduction Act of 2005" (S. 1256) on July 16. The bill, which comes after a flurry of recent legislative activity at the local level on chemical shipment security, promotes greater cooperation between agencies, as well as more input from state and local officials in securing hazardous chemicals.

Attorney General Considers Writing New FOIA Memo (08/08/2005)
Attorney General Alberto Gonzales recently announced he would reconsider the government's position on the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), previously established in a controversial 2001 memo by then Attorney General John Ashcroft. The Ashcroft memo, which has been criticized by open government advocates, directed federal agency officials to presumptively withhold information requested under FOIA if they were uncertain whether the information should be released.

Cities Tackle Chemical Transportation Security (08/08/2005)
When a freight train accident took eight lives in South Carolina earlier this year because of unsafe and uninspected train cars carrying toxic materials, it heightened concerns about chemical security in our trains and trucks. Cities across the nation have begun addressing serious deficiencies on this homeland security issue because the federal government has done little. Boston, Cleveland, Chicago, and Baltimore are all considering legislation to mitigate the risks of shipping hazardous materials through their heavily populated centers.

First Public Case of Critical Infrastructure Information (08/08/2005)
A New Jersey resident, requesting access to a township's electronic map of land parcels, has brought to light the first public example of a law that hides information that meets standards for "critical infrastructure information" (CII). The local municipal utility denied the resident’s request for land parcel information, because the data had been protected by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) under the CII program.

Study Finds Little Oversight of Religious Content or Client Choice in Gov't-Funded Programs (08/08/2005)
An Urban Institute study of the Bush administration's Faith Based Initiative, found that, while many faith-based organizations (FBOs) are integral service providers, they often lack established benchmarks and have little oversight at the state, local and federal levels, regarding religious content and the ability of clients to choose an alternative provider.

No Charges for Man Who Ejected Three from Town Hall Meeting (08/08/2005)
Federal prosecutors announced they will not charge the man who ejected three Denver residents from a taxpayer-funded town hall meeting on Social Security, because their car had an anti-war bumper sticker. The announcement was made after the Secret Service referred its investigation to the U.S. Attorney's office to consider charges of impersonating a federal officer. During the March incident, the unidentified man threatened to arrest the three attendees, if they did not leave, even though they had tickets and were not disrupting the event. An attorney of the three ejected from the event said they intend to file a civil suit for assault and violation of free speech rights.

Study Points to Improvements in Communication With Congress in Digital Age (08/08/2005)
A recent report by the Congressional Management Foundation (CMF), a nonprofit organization that provides management advice to members of Congress and their staff, described improvements both congressional staff and advocacy groups should implement to improve the quality of communications to and from Congress in the Internet age.

High Court Nominee Admits Lobbying OMB, FDA (08/08/2005)
Supreme Court nominee John G. Roberts, Jr. conceded that he omitted records of lobbying the White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB) and U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) from his other public disclosures, after Newsday uncovered the lobbying activities.

Why Performance Standards May Be Superior to Cap-and-Trade (08/08/2005)
Cap-and-trade regimes do a worse job at stimulating innovative pollution control methods than performance standards, according to a new scholarly article challenging the industry-backed position that emissions trading and market-based programs are inherently superior to so-called “command-and-control” regulation. This analysis reviews the article and outlines the reasons why performance standards may be superior to cap-and-trade.

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