Publications :  The Watcher :  OMB Watcher Vol. 7: 2006 :  July 11, 2006 Vol. 7, No. 14 : 

In This Issue

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Sunset Commission Bill Imminent (07/11/2006)
A sunset commission bill could arrive this week, if House leadership sticks to its previously announced plans.

Congress to Limit Public Participation in Forest Service Decisions (07/11/2006)
After courts in California and Montana struck down Forest Service rules that limited public participation in certain logging decisions, the Senate has added language to an appropriations bill that would reinstate those rules.

Senate Will Hold Hearing on Federal Spending Transparency (07/11/2006)
A Senate hearing has been scheduled for July 18 to discuss the need for publicly available information surrounding federal spending and how the Federal Funding Accountability and Transparency Act (S. 2590) will create this transparency.

Senators 'Hold' EPA Nominee to Protest Cuts to Pollution Reporting (07/11/2006)
New Jersey Sens. Frank Lautenberg (D) and Robert Menendez (D) have placed a hold on a Bush administration nominee to protest a set of Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) proposals to dismantle the Toxics Release Inventory (TRI). Last year, EPA proposed significant cuts to the TRI program, our country's most complete inventory of toxic pollution, that would according to Lautenberg, "deny thousands of communities - including 160 in New Jersey - full information about the release of hazardous toxic emissions in their neighborhoods."

FOIA's 40th Anniversary - Bigger Backlogs and Poor Planning (07/11/2006)
This July 4th marked the 40th anniversary of the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), signed into law by President Lyndon Baines Johnson. Open government advocates marked the occasion by releasing two reports that simultaneously underscored the importance of FOIA 40 years later and the need for improved agency procedures.

Employees Weigh in to Save EPA Libraries (07/11/2006)
Presidents of 17 Local Unions representing more than 10,000 U.S. Environmental Protection Agency employees wrote to Senate appropriators on June 29 to protest deep cuts to EPA funding that would close the agency's libraries. The letter urges Congress to reinstate full funding to EPA libraries and explains how the cuts will impede EPA's ability to respond to public health, enforcement and homeland security emergencies and restrict public access to vital health and safety information.

Reports Show the Good and Bad in Agency Classification Procedures (07/11/2006)
Continuing its study of classification procedures, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) released two reports, one focusing on the Department of Defense (DOD) and the other on the Department of Energy (DOE). The reports offer a stark contrast, bemoaning DOD's "lack of oversight and inconsistent implementation" of classification policies, while praising DOE's "systematic training, comprehensive guidance, and rigorous oversight."

OMB Mid-Session Review Gives Limited Picture Of Budget Crisis (07/11/2006)
Today, the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) released its annual Mid-Session Budget Review, and has lowered by $127 billion the projected FY 2006 budget deficit - from $423 billion estimated earlier this year to $296 billion. The reduction is attributed to an unexpected rise in corporate and personal income tax receipts and revenues from capital gains taxes. Beneath the increased tax revenue, however, is a frightening reality: the ever-widening gap between the very rich and the rest of us. Moreover, OMB's lowering of its initial projections is consistent with the White House agency's strategy of predicting drastically over-inflated deficits in order to release revisions that give the appearance of improving fiscal health.

Congress Running Out of Time for Approps Work (07/11/2006)
Lawmakers returned to Washington on Monday after a week-long 4th of July break. Both chambers of Congress are far behind in their work for the year and appear to lack momentum toward completing contentious legislation, including immigration and pension reform, additional tax cuts, and budget process changes. This already nearly guarantees that a continuing resolution (CR) will be necessary for funding the federal government after the start of the fiscal year on Oct. 1, and that this Congress will then need to return after the November elections to wrap up essential legislation before the next Congress convenes.

Report Finds IRS Program Could Hamper Free Speech for Organizations (07/11/2006)
A new OMB Watch report finds fault with the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) program to enforce the ban on partisan activities by charities. The report's most serious findings suggest that the IRS's Political Activities Compliance Initiative (PACI) threatens the constitutional rights of nonprofit organizations and churches to speak out on issues of the day. It also suggests that the IRS exaggerated the extent of noncompliance in an agency report on its enforcement efforts in 2004. Finally, the potential for abuse of the program in order to harass or retaliate against an organization is of concern during the upcoming election season.

Nonprofits File Suit Contesting Ohio's New Voter Registration Requirements (07/11/2006)
A coalition of organizations and individuals have filed suit to stop new voter registration rules in Ohio, charging they are designed to suppress the registration of minority and economically disadvantaged voters.

Catholic Group Responds to IRS Complaint By Forming New Group (07/11/2006)
A Catholic anti-abortion group, Catholic Answers, recently announced it will form a new organization, Catholic Answers Action, after a 2004 complaint filed with the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) claimed its Voter's Guide for Serious Catholics was a partisan intervention in that year's election. The new group is a social welfare organization exempt under 501(c)(4) of the tax code, and is not subject to the ban on partisan activity that applies to charities and religious organizations under section 501(c)(3). It intends to publish a similar 2006 version of its voter guide.

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