Publications :  The Watcher :  OMB Watcher Vol. 3: 2002 :  June 10, 2002 Vol. 3 No. 12 : 

In This Issue

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House Passes Permanent Repeal of the Estate Tax (Again) (06/11/2002)
The House wanted its vote on Thurs. June 6th on permanent repeal of the estate tax (H.R. 2143) to send a signal to the Senate showing widening support for repeal. The vote did send a signal, though not the one the House had intended.

Estate Tax Briefings (06/11/2002)
A successful nonprofit briefing on the estate tax was held on June 6. A press briefing to release the results of a nationwide poll by Greenberg Quinlan Rosner Research will be held Wednesday, June 12.

Comment Salvos Exchanged in Data Quality War (06/11/2002)
Extensions granted
In response to the extremely short public comment period most agencies were offering on their draft data quality guidelines, Citizens for Sensible Safeguards, a broad-based coalition of organizations representing health, safety, civil rights, and environmental concerns, sent a letter to Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA) Administrator John Graham requesting an extension to the deadline for filing comments on federal agency data quality guidelines. Similar letters were sent to several key agencies requesting that they extend they public comment periods.

Survey Conducted on Streamlining Government Grants (06/10/2002)
Last month, as part of the Streamlining Nonprofit Grants Management Project, OMB Watch conducted an online survey of nonprofits that receive government grants to determine priorities in the implementation of the Federal Financial Assistance Management Improvement Act of 1999. 365 groups responded, representing national, state and local groups and faith and community based organizations.


Charitable Choice Advocates Continue Regulatory, Legislative Efforts (06/10/2002)
While the CARE Act has hit a snag in the Senate over the costs of tax cuts for charitable giving, non-tax portions of the bill dealing with federal grant rules for faith-based organizations could become even more controversial if the bill passes the Senate and goes to conference with the House.


Is the FBI Watching You? (06/10/2002)
The Department of Justice announced new guidelines for the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) that dramatically expand their authority to conduct investigations that are not related to criminal activity and engage in surveillance of religious, political and advocacy organizations.

EPA Announces New Online Rulemaking System (06/10/2002)
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) recently announced the launching of a new web service, called EPA Dockets, to allow the public to search regulatory documents and submit comments on rulemakings electronically.

NHTSA Issues Weakened Tire Pressure Monitoring Rule (06/10/2002)
On June 5, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) issued a watered down standard to guard against under-inflated tires -- which are linked to numerous deaths each year -- after its first attempt was rejected by OMB’s Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA), which must approve all major regulatory actions.

EPA Likely to Require "Terror Checks" at Chemical Plants (06/10/2002)
According to Associated Press reports last week, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) may finally begin to require chemical plants to assess their vulnerabilities to a terrorist attack, and then take measures to reduce those risks.

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