Publications :  The Watcher :  OMB Watcher Vol. 9: 2008 :  February 5, 2008 Vol. 9, No. 3 : 

In This Issue

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The Bush Budget Legacy: Misleading Claims and Misguided Priorities (02/05/2008)
On Feb. 4, President Bush laid out, in a rather slender volume, his federal budget proposal for Fiscal Year 2009, which begins on Oct. 1. Unfortunately, Bush has made little progress toward constructing an honest, fiscally responsible budget that meets the needs of America's communities. In fact, criticisms identical to those levied a year ago against his FY 2008 budget are still quite suitable in their application today — Bush's assumptions about war spending and Alternative Minimum Tax (AMT) reform are unrealistic if not outright spurious. His attempt to balance the budget by 2012 requires massive cuts to Medicare, Medicaid, and other popular domestic investments Congress will certainly not enact. His proposal to terminate or radically cut 151 federal programs is fantastical — wholesale cuts to popular discretionary programs are not only unlikely but are irresponsible in the face of worsening economic conditions.

Stimulus Status: The Eye of the Storm (02/05/2008)
Momentum in Congress to pass a fiscal stimulus plan has halted for the moment, with the nation's political attention focused on the biggest primary day ever and, to a lesser degree, on the release of the president's FY 2009 budget proposal. Indeed, because Super Tuesday has three senators hop-scotching around the country, Senate leaders have put off an expected showdown over the plan until Wednesday, Feb. 6.

Product Safety Regulator Hobbled by Decades of Negligence (02/05/2008)
The nation's premiere consumer product regulator, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), has been crippled by budget cuts and staffing losses that now span decades. Every president since Gerald Ford has proposed cutting the agency's budget at least once, and Congresses controlled by both parties have obliged. Recent attention surrounding massive product recalls prompted Congress at the end of 2007 to give the agency one of its biggest funding boosts, and lawmakers are considering additional legislation to ensure consistent long-term funding. President Bush's FY 2009 budget request, announced Feb. 4, proposes level funding for the agency.

2008 Executive Branch Regulatory Agenda: Building an Administrative Legacy (02/05/2008)
In 2007, President Bush used administrative decrees — such as issuing a new regulatory executive order and giving new powers to executive branch offices — to impact the regulatory process. The administration is likely to continue pursuing administratively what it cannot accomplish legislatively or does not wish to do in the light of day.

New FOIA Law Already in Trouble (02/05/2008)
Buried deep within an appendix of President Bush's $3.1 trillion budget proposal is an effort by the administration to rewrite the newly minted OPEN Government Act of 2007, which seeks to improve agency implementation of the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA). Despite clear language in the OPEN Government Act requiring that a new Office of Government Information be established at the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA), the Bush administration has proposed shifting the new office to the Department of Justice (DOJ).

FISA Fight Heats Up in Senate (02/05/2008)
The Senate is continuing its debate on the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA). On Jan. 31, President Bush signed a 15-day extension of the Protect America Act (PAA) to allow the Senate to further debate and vote on a modified extension of PAA. A provision providing immunity to telecommunications companies remains a contentious issue.

Government Offers Refunds for Katrina Trailers (02/05/2008)
On Jan. 17, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) announced refunds for potentially toxic trailers purchased between July 2006 and July 2007, the period trailers manufactured in response to Hurricane Katrina were sold.

Polar Bears Get Their Day in Congress (02/05/2008)
At a Jan. 17 hearing, the Select Committee on Energy Independence and Global Warming questioned the true motives behind the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's (FWS) delay in deciding whether to list the polar bear as a threatened species.

More Blurry Lines: IRS Warns on Web Links, Primaries Continue to Generate Complaints to Agency (02/05/2008)
The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has warned that links from 501(c)(3) organization websites to other sites may be considered partisan if the facts and circumstances of the link indicate support or opposition for candidates. In addition, Americans United for Separation of Church and State (AU) lodged new complaints about possible partisan intervention in elections, which involve voter guides and the content of a newsletter.

Charity Charged with Violating Economic Sanctions in Grants to Orphanage (02/05/2008)
The Islamic American Relief Agency (IARA-USA) and five of its leaders have been charged with engaging in prohibited transactions with Gulbuddin Hekmatyar, an Afghan rebel leader who was designated as a terrorist in 2003. IARA-USA, which was shut down in October 2004, was funding an orphanage in the Shamshatu Refugee Camp in Pakistan that is located on land belonging to Hekmatyar. The defendants are not charged with supporting terrorism. The leaders, along with a former member of Congress, Mark J. Siljander, have also been charged with misappropriating funds from a federal grant to pay for Siljander to lobby for IARA-USA's removal from a Senate list of organizations suspected of supporting terrorism. The trial is scheduled for November.

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