Publications :  The Watcher :  OMB Watcher Vol. 6: 2005 :  June 1, 2005 Vol.6, No.11 : 

In This Issue

---

Senate Finance Committee Pushes Alternative Minimum Tax Repeal (05/31/2005)
A bipartisan coalition of Senate Finance Committee members, including Chairman Charles Grassley (R-IA), Ranking Member Max Baucus (D-MT), Ron Wyden (D-OR) and Jon Kyl (R-AZ), introduced legislation last week to repeal the federal individual alternative minimum tax (AMT). The bipartisan "Individual Alternative Minimum Tax Repeal Act of 2005" would amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to end the AMT beginning in the 2006 tax year. In contrast to the position taken by Bush administration officials, Senate Republican tax writers say they do not want to wait for a complete overhaul of the tax code to enact permanent changes to the AMT.

House Appropriators Speed Through Spending Bills (05/31/2005)
While the Senate was bogged down last week debating judicial nominations and a possible vote to end the use of the filibuster when considering judicial nominees, the House has been hastily forging ahead on appropriations bills at a furious pace. Soon after the bicameral budget resolution was agreed to April 28, House Appropriations Committee Chairman Jerry Lewis (R-CA) laid out 302(b) allocations to the 11 appropriations subcommittees and markups immediately began. Seven of the bills remain to be completed.

Thomas Pushes for Social Security Tax Cuts (05/31/2005)
The House Ways and Means Committee made Social Security the focus of its work over the past two weeks, holding a number of hearings and announcing the intention to write legislation this summer. Rep. James McCrery (R-LA), chairman of the Subcommittee on Social Security, stated House lawmakers will be ready to write Social Security legislation by July 1. However, this legislation could very well include a number of deleterious tax cuts -- masked as savings incentives -- that would primarily benefit the wealthy, not fix the problem of Social Security solvency, and would further add to the nation's budget deficits.

Court Waters Down Toxic Release Inventory (05/31/2005)
A federal appeals court ruled May 10 that the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) can no longer require chemical facilities to report methyl ethyl ketone (MEK) releases under the Toxic Release Inventory (TRI). According to the 2003 TRI data, facilities released over 26 million pounds of MEK to the environment.

Journalists Find Chemical Plants Insecure (05/31/2005)
The New York Times recently uncovered startling security flaws at chemical plants in Dallas and New Orleans after a writer "milled about" for some time around the fence line of plants before even being approached by facility security personnel. Reporters have regularly penetrated chemical plant security with great ease, notwithstanding claims by the chemical industry that it is voluntarily improving security.

Iowa's 2005 Legislation a Mixed Bag for Open Government (05/31/2005)
The 2005 legislative session in Iowa closed with passage of two laws that improve the public's access to government information. While a third law did not pass, open government advocates still thought this was a good year for the public's right to know.

Lobby Disclosure Bill Filed (05/31/2005)
On May 17, Reps. Marty Meehan (D-MA) and Rahm Emanuel (D-IL) formally filed H.R. 2412, the Special Interest Lobbying and Ethics Accountability Act (SILEA). The bill would amend the Lobby Disclosure Act of 1995 (LDA), which requires organizations that engage in a certain amount of lobbying activity to register and file disclosure reports. Of particular concern to nonprofits are four provisions that would increase disclosure requirements.

State Charity Regulation Proposals Listed (05/31/2005)
The National Council of Nonprofit Associations (NCNA) has published a list of 24 legislative proposals to regulate charities that are pending in 15 states. A list summarizing 2004 results in 19 states was also published. Both are available on the NCNA website.

Group Asks Supreme Court to Consider Constitutionality of Electioneering Restrictions (05/31/2005)
The Wisconsin Right to Life Committee (WRTL) appealed to the Supreme Court May 24 asking it to overturn a provision of the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act of 2002 (BCRA) that prohibits the broadcast of ads that mention federal candidates within 60 days of a general election or 30 days of a primary. WRTL ran ads in the summer of 2004 asking Sens. Russ Feingold (D-WI) and Herb Kohl (D-WI) to support President Bush's judicial nominees. It had to discontinue the ads on Aug. 15, 2004 because Feingold was running for re-election. The group says the ads were grassroots lobbying communications that should be protected by the First Amendment, not partisan electioneering.

OMB Watch Submits Comments on Combined Federal Campaign Anti-Terrorist Certification (05/31/2005)
OMB Watch has filed comments on the Combined Federal Campaign's (CFC) proposed anti-terrorist financing certification for fiscal year 2006 (FY06) that support CFC's shift away from its FY05 requirement that participating charities check employee names against government terrorist watch lists. The CFC is the federal government's workplace charitable giving program. The comments suggest ways the proposed certification can be improved to provide clearer guidance and suggest that CFC develop procedures for organizations to cure any noncompliance discovered during the program year. OMB Watch is one of 12 nonprofit plaintiffs that have challenged the current certification in federal court

GOP Seeks Power to Restructure Entire Federal Government (05/31/2005)
The Bush administration's systematic dismantling of the public's protections could soon accelerate as Republican lawmakers prepare legislation that would permit the unrestrained restructuring of the entire federal government through results commissions and fast-track reorganization authority.

House Considers CDBG But Avoids Attacking PART (05/31/2005)
In the wake of the White House's attempt to put the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) program on the chopping block, a House subcommittee held a hearing to determine whether a program as diverse and flexible as CDBG could be evaluated using OMB's one-size-fits-all performance measurements.

Privacy Statement | Press Room | Site Map | Contact OMB Watch

© 2008 OMB Watch
1742 Connecticut Avenue, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20009
202-234-8494 (phone)
202-234-8584 (fax)

Combined Federal Campaign #10201

Please credit OMB Watch when redistributing this material.