Publications :  The Watcher :  OMB Watcher Vol. 6: 2005 :  June 27, 2005 Vol.6, No.13 : 

In This Issue

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Rhetoric Heats Up On Estate Tax as Political Reality Pushes Compromise (06/27/2005)
The Senate appears headed for another showdown on repeal of the estate tax, possibly before the August recess. With permanent repeal costing around $1 trillion over the first 10 years, there is discussion between Senate Republicans and Democrats on possible reform options. It is unclear whether these discussions on reform may turn into a back-door approach by pro-repeal groups to push through legislation that would amount to a virtual repeal of the estate tax.

Senate Investigates the Program Assessment Rating Tool (06/27/2005)
On Tuesday, June 14 the Senate subcommittee on Federal Financial Management, Government Information, and International Security held a hearing on accountability and results in federal budgeting. Specifically, the hearing was held to investigate the specific metrics and tools used by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to measure the effectiveness of federal programs, the advantages and disadvantages of using these systems of measurement, and how information obtained is used to increase accountability in federal budgeting. The most widely used mechanism, called the Program Assessment Rating Tool (PART), was the main topic of the hearing.

DeMint's Social Security Plan Gets Attention, But Does Nothing to Address Solvency (06/27/2005)
Sen. Jim DeMint (R-SC) revealed a proposal for Social Security overhaul last week that has received the attention of both the White House and the House Ways and Means Committee. According to DeMint, the proposal -- dubbed the initiative to Stop the Raid on Social Security Act (S. 274) -- would stop members of Congress from spending Social Security funds that exceed the amount currently needed to pay benefits on other priorities. Many analysts believe, however, that the DeMint proposal will not cause a change in policy makers' spending behavior, and will bring risk to a currently risk-free benefits program and increase what are already record-high deficits.

Senate Needs to Follow House's Lead On Appropriations in Order to Avoid Omnibus (06/27/2005)
The House has approached the appropriations process for FY 06 with the intent of completing work on the bills well before the start of the fiscal year in October. And while many on Capitol Hill are hoping the Senate will be able to focus mainly on appropriations during the month of July, it appears that Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist (R-TN) also plans to use that time to move other high-priority bills. Frist has stated his intent to work on both matters of border security and economic growth. However, legislation in the Senate has been slow moving all year due to repeated legislative and partisan disputes, so the ambitious agenda put forward by First has little chance of being completed.

President's Tax Reform Panel Gets Two Additional Months (06/27/2005)
The deadline by which the President's Advisory Panel on Federal Tax Reform needed to report their recommendations to Treasury Secretary John Snow was pushed back two months by order of President Bush last week. On June 16, Bush signed an amendment to the executive order establishing the parameters of the panel allowing the report to be sent to Treasury by September 30, a full two months after the original July 31 deadline. It is unknown whether this change was due to political calculations by the president and his advisors or if the panel was behind schedule and simply needed more time.

Senate Votes to Stop Sweeping Secrecy Laws (06/27/2005)
The Senate voted on Friday, June 24, to better explain when Congress keeps information from the public. The move is intended to push Congress to be clear when keeping secrets from the public and stop secrecy that Congress does not intend.

Citizens Protest New Jersey's Proposed Homeland Security Secrecy (06/27/2005)
Workers and environmentalists picketed outside the office of New Jersey Attorney General Peter Harvey on June 22 to protest proposed changes to the state's Open Public Records Act (OPRA). Harvey has proposed exempting various facilities from the public records law, including chemical plants, in the interest of homeland security. Protesters expressed concern that the new exemptions are too broad and would conceal from the public important information about toxins in their communities.

American Chemical Society Tries to Limit Public Database of Chemicals (06/27/2005)
Congress is considering intervening in a dispute about publicly available scientific information. The American Chemical Society (ACS) has asked that Congress limit or refocus the National Institute of Health's (NIH) PubChem database. PubChem is a freely accessible database that provides information about small molecules primarily used by medical researchers. ACS has raised its objections because PubChem overlaps with its commercial enterprise, Chemical Abstracts Service (CAS) Registry.

Louisville, Kentucky Finalizes New Air Quality Program (06/27/2005)
On June 21, the Louisville Air Pollution Control Board unanimously approved the Strategic Toxic Air Reduction (STAR) program to require industrial facilities to reduce emissions of hazardous air pollutants. The process that led to the program, which will be implemented July 1, demonstrates how invaluable public access to environmental information is in protecting the health and safety of communities.

Past Government Secrecy Takes its Toll on Steelworkers (06/27/2005)
Proponents of government secrecy would do well to consider the story of Bethlehem Steel when pushing for greater secrecy in the name of homeland security. The federal government admitted in 2000, that it had knowingly exposed thousands of workers in steel mills to radiation without any protection or warning during the 1940s and 50s. The workers, kept in the dark about the exposure because of national security concerns, have paid for years -- at times with their very lives.

Panel on Nonprofit Sector Makes Final Recommendations to Senate Committee (06/27/2005)
On June 22, the Panel on the Nonprofit Sector released its Final Report on reform for charities, saying the measures are "intended to strengthen the ability of the nation's 1.3 million charities and foundations to serve as responsible stewards of the public's generosity." The 116-page report, which makes over 120 recommendations in 15 areas of nonprofit governance and financial reporting, was well received by Senate Finance Committee Chair Charles Grassley (R-IA) and Internal Revenue Service (IRS) Commissioner Mark Everson.

Scam by Lobbyists Could Have Negative Consequences for Legitimate Nonprofits (06/27/2005)
A June 22 hearing of the Senate Indian Affairs Committee revealed details of a scam by lobbyists Jack Abramoff and Michael Scanlon to pocket millions of dollars in donations to nonprofit groups they controlled or on whose board they sat. They used these groups as intermediaries, with subgrants going to other nonprofits and consulting firms they controlled, and ultimately into their pockets. This abuse, and other recently reported cases of professional lobbyists using nonprofits to avoid ethics and disclosure rules, has raised questions about the need for greater transparency and oversight of the identity of donors and of financial transactions between groups.

Panel Explores Threats to Charity in the Post-9/11 Regulatory Environment (06/27/2005)
On June 14 the Georgetown Public Policy Institute's Center for Public and Nonprofit Leadership (CPNL) hosted Safeguarding Charity in the War on Terror, a panel discussion on the impact of government anti-terrorism programs on the nonprofit sector. A diverse group of scholars and practitioners charged that the government's campaign against terrorist financing has proven ineffective, inefficient, and harmful to philanthropy and charitable programs.

Clashing 527 Bills Moving in the House (06/27/2005)
On June 23, Rep. Robert Ney (R-OH), chair of the House Administration Committee, sent a letter to Reps. Martin Meehan (D-MA) and Christopher Shays (R-CT) informing them he intends to schedule their proposed legislation, H.R. 513, the 527 Reform Act, for committee consideration. Ney also said that, although he supports a competing 527 bill, he will vote to send the Shays-Meehan proposal to the floor.

OMB Report on Regulation Misguided, Misleading (06/27/2005)
An annual draft report from the White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB) misleads the public on regulatory safeguards and makes OMB appear poised to impose misguided anti-regulatory policies, OMB Watch and other public interest groups told the White House last week.

Costs of Work-Related Harms Underestimated but Soaring (06/27/2005)
Even as the cost of serious workplace injury continues to soar, new research concludes that those costs are significantly underestimated.

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