Publications :  The Watcher :  OMB Watcher Vol. 7: 2006 :  September 26, 2006 Vol.7, No. 19 : 

In This Issue

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Letter from Gary Bass: OMB Watch Launches FedSpending.org to Shed Light on Government Spending (09/26/2006)
On Oct. 10, OMB Watch will open a window through which any American can see just how our federal government spends. With generous support from the Sunlight Foundation, we have created a new searchable website, FedSpending.org, that will let the public see who is getting federal contracts and other financial assistance, and how much is being spent on government programs and in specific states and congressional districts. FedSpending.org is unprecedented - and long overdue.

Budget Failures: Cutting to the Core (09/26/2006)
Republicans in Congress, in order to avoid a backlash from core supporters this November, are on a path to make harmful budget cuts under the cover of a "continuing resolution" and a post-election "lame-duck" session. Only two of 12 appropriations bills -the Department of Homeland Security and Department of Defense spending bills - are even close to passage, and both should receive hefty allotments that will crowd out spending in the remaining appropriations bills.

Another Estate Tax Vote Unlikely During This Congress (09/26/2006)
With Congress now in its final week before adjourning for the midterm elections, the death knell may finally be sounding for the "trifecta" package (H.R. 5970), a bill lumping together popular tax credit extensions, a permanent reduction in the estate tax, and an increase in the minimum wage.

Terrorism Task Force Raids Muslim Charity, Making Ramadan Giving Problematic (09/26/2006)
On Sept.18, federal agents raided the office of a Michigan-based Muslim charity. Agents from the Joint Terrorism Task Force (JTTF) seized files, cabinets, computers, and copied documents from the headquarters of Life for Relief and Development, a humanitarian relief organization. The group, founded in 1992, has been active in sending aid to Iraq, Jordan, Pakistan, Dubai, Syria, Sierra Leone, and Israel and is one of the largest American Muslim aid groups. Organization officials are cooperating with the investigation, which federal agents claim is not related to terrorism, but to tax issues, despite the raid being coordinated by a terrorism task force.

Bipartisan Effort Supports E-Filing of Senate Campaign Contributions (09/26/2006)
The Senate Campaign Disclosure Parity Act (S.1508), which has yet to be reported out of committee, would require U.S. Senate candidates to file their federal campaign finance reports electronically, just like House and presidential candidates do, and many critics say it's high time. Currently, Senate candidates report on paper and then those pages of contributors are entered manually by the Federal Election Commission (FEC), a time consuming process that denies the public the right to know who is contributing to a Senator's election campaigns when it matters most -- before the election.

IRS Investigations of Political Activity Heat Up (09/26/2006)
As the election season gets underway, public attention has increasingly turned to the speech rights of charities and religious groups. Leaders of All Saints Episcopal Church, the Pasadena, CA church under investigation for alleged partisanship in 2004, announced they unanimously voted to refuse to comply with IRS requests, setting the stage for a legal battle that could significantly impact the rights of 501(c)(3) organizations. Two members of Congress wrote the IRS questioning its enforcement program and citing the All Saints case. Another case - Operation Rescue West - illustrates the consequences of egregious violations. And church-state separation advocates announced a mailing to 100,000 congregations warning against partisan activities.

Secretive Biodefense Legislation Moves Forward (09/26/2006)
The House and Senate are nearing a vote on legislation to authorize a new federal agency, the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Agency (BARDA), within the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). The agency would oversee "advanced research and development" of countermeasures to bioterrorism threats, epidemics, and pandemics, and would have broad authority to exempt information from public disclosure under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA).

Pending EPA Library Closures Spark Protest and Controversy (09/26/2006)
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) continues to move forward with plans to shut down agency libraries despite protests from EPA scientists and enforcement staff. According to a leaked EPA FY 2007 Library Plan, regional libraries in Chicago, Dallas and Kansas City as well as its Headquarters library in Washington, will be closed by Sept. 30 and as many as 80,000 documents not electronically available will be boxed for digitizing.

Chemical Insecurity (09/26/2006)
Last night, the Homeland Security Appropriations Conference Committee struck a deal to attach chemical security language to the FY 2007 DHS spending bill. The language, agreed upon by Rep. Peter King (R-NY) and Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME) last week, is a retreat from stronger, bipartisan bills pending in both houses and, according to environmental groups, "turns a blind eye to removing thousands of people from harm's way with off-the-shelf technologies." News of the agreement quickly met with strong criticism from members of Congress and public interest groups.

NSA Bills Head to a Vote (09/26/2006)
High on Congress' agenda this week is legislation to authorize the National Security Agency's (NSA) Terrorist Surveillance Program (TSP). In the Senate, Judiciary Committee Chair Arlen Specter (R-PA) brokered a hollow compromise with moderate Republicans on the National Security Surveillance Act (S. 2453), increasing the likelihood of its passage. In the House, Rep. Heather Wilson's (R-NM) Electronic Surveillance Modernization Act (H.R. 5825) passed out of committee and is likely to see a floor vote this week. Both bills would legalize the warrantless surveillance program and provide exceptions to the judicial approval required by the Fourth Amendment and the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA).

OPEN Government Act Clears Senate Committee Hurdle (09/26/2006)
The Senate Judiciary Committee on Sept. 21 approved the Openness Promotes Effectiveness in our National (OPEN) Government Act (S. 394), a promising development for open government advocates. The bill, sponsored by Sens. John Cornyn (R-TX) and Patrick Leahy (D-VT), would remove hurdles to obtaining information from federal agencies under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA).

GAO Fails to Adequately Assess the Data Quality Act (09/26/2006)
The Government Accountability Office (GAO) recently issued a report on how well major federal agencies are implementing and overseeing compliance with the Data Quality Act (DQA). The report is an excellent overview of DQA's use, but it fails to make recommendations necessary to improving the management of DQA impacts on the federal government, in particular to minimizing its potential abuse.

E. Coli Outbreak Is Reason to Better Protect Food Supply (09/26/2006)
Though federal agencies responded relatively quickly to the recent outbreak of E.Coli in bagged spinach, the case highlights the need to ensure the safety of the nation's food supply and to have adequate tracking systems in place to do so.

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