Publications :  The Watcher :  OMB Watcher Vol. 7: 2006 :  March 21, 2005 Vol. 7, No. 6 : 

In This Issue

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Senate Approves Disappointing Budget Resolution (03/21/2006)
Last week before leaving town for another weeklong recess, the Senate approved its Fiscal year 2007 budget resolution. The resolution is a significant departure from President Bush's proposed budget submitted earlier this year, dropping the president's Medicare cuts, not extending tax cuts, and adding over $16 billion in discretionary spending above the president's request. Despite these changes that make it more election-friendly for Senate incumbents, the budget continues to fall short of the sound budget policy desperately needed to stem the growth of deficits.

Income Inequality Has Intensified Under Bush (03/21/2006)
Though the Bush administration continues to laud the strength of the economy and the success of its economic and tax policies, a large percentage of Americans are continuing to struggle to make ends meet as income growth has become increasingly concentrated at the top of the income scale. Income inequality, in fact, is at an all-time high, illustrating that current tax, budget, and wage and employment policies are all not working in favor of average American families.

White House Continues False Rhetoric on Impact of Tax Cuts (03/21/2006)
Attempting to justify the Congressional GOP's push to extend and make permanent President Bush's first term tax cuts, many Republican legislators and pundits, including the vice president, have recently claimed tax cuts pay for themselves by spurring economic growth. While this argument bolsters their call for tax cut permanence, the evidence shows the claim is more fiction than hard fact.

House Passes Yet Another "Emergency" War Funding Bill (03/21/2006)
Before departing for a week-long St. Patrick's Day recess, Congress succeeded in further mangling the fiscal state of the nation. The House passed a costly emergency supplemental bill, while the Senate approved a misguided budget resolution. At the same time, both chambers approved an increase to the nation's debt limit to pay for their fiscal decisions. The $92 billion emergency supplemental measure passed by the House will significantly increase current deficits and do so by circumventing standard budget procedures.

Honest Debate Is Needed Around Vote to Increase Debt Limit (03/21/2006)
On March 16 the Senate voted 52-48 to increase the nation's statutory debt limit once again. The limit now sits at almost $9 trillion. The vote to increase the debt limit was necessary in order to avoid a government default, yet Senate Republican leaders pushed hard for this vote to take place without proper debate and without giving Senators a chance to offer amendments, some of which could potentially help to slow the rapid run-up of debt in years to come.

House Bill to Roll Back Food Safety (03/21/2006)
The "National Uniformity for Food Act" (H.R. 4167) that would preempt nearly 200 food safety laws and affect state law in all 50 states, passed out of the House on March 8, to ire of consumer advocates. The legislation was introduced by Reps. Mike Rogers (R-MI) and Ed Towns (D-NY).

Louisville Air Quality Program Threatened (03/21/2006)
Kentucky state lawmakers are considering a bill that would threaten the future of a fledgling air pollution program in Louisville. The program, called the Strategic Toxic Air Reduction (STAR) program, was passed unanimously by the Louisville Air Pollution Control Board in June 2005, and requires industrial facilities in the area to reduce emissions of 18 hazardous air pollutants.

Spotlight on Secrecy and Overclassification (03/21/2006)
Testifying before the House Subcommittee on National Security, Emerging Threats and International Relations, representatives from the National Archives, the Department of Defense (DOD) and the Department of Energy (DOE) received harsh questions regarding a secretive, multi-agency reclassification program, as well as unclear sensitive but unclassified (SBU) policies.

Court Rejects Data Quality Act Case Brought by Industry (03/21/2006)
A recent appeals court decision has dealt a blow to what many consider frivolous challenges to sound science made under the Data Quality Act (DQA). On March 6, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit dismissed a lawsuit brought by the Salt Institute and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce under DQA, when judges found that the act does not allow for judicial review and that the plaintiffs had not show injury and thus lacked standing. The suit requested court intervention on a 2003 challenge by the plaintiffs with the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI), requesting underlying data on a sodium study the institute had conducted.

Sunshine Week Marked by National Discussion, News Coverage (03/21/2006)
The public is growing weary and distrustful of burgeoning government secrecy--that's the message brought to the public last week during Sunshine Week (March 12-18th), an effort by the media, civic groups, libraries, universities and others to highlight the importance of open government.

PRA Hearing Features Industry Anti-Reg Wish List (03/21/2006)
Testimony in a House hearing on the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA) revealed industry groups' intentions of using PRA reauthorization to push an anti-regulatory agenda.

FBI Used Anti-Terrorism Powers to Target Peace Group (03/21/2006)
The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) released documents on March 14, 2006 that document FBI surveillance and investigation of the Thomas Merton Center for Peace & Justice in Pittsburgh, PA, carried out because the group "has been determined to be an organization which is opposed to the United States' war with Iraq." This appears to be the first evidence that the FBI is using the viewpoint and activism of a U.S. nonprofit as a basis for investigation by the local Joint Terrorism Task Force (JTTF).

Questions Raised About IRS Enforcement Program (03/21/2006)
Complaints filed by two nonprofits illustrate the potential for abuse inherent in the Internal Revenue Service's (IRS) reliance on referrals from the public for leads in its enforcement programs. On March 14, a complaint filed by Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) against Americans for Tax Reform (ATR) and Americans for Tax Reform Foundation (ATRF), alleged activities that "may violate IRS regulations and require a revocation of their tax-exempt status." The next day ATR filed a counter-complaint with the IRS against CREW, alleging that CREW, a 501(c)(3) organization, engages in prohibited partisan activity because the majority of its ethics complaints have been filed against Republicans.

Lobby Reform: A Bill in the House, While the Senate Moves Toward Vote (03/21/2006)
Heading into the week long St. Patrick's Day recess, the House Republican leadership has formally introduced a lobbying and ethics reform bill, while the Senate has scheduled a vote for March 27. While both chambers are finally moving legislation, it is increasingly unclear what new rules will eventually be enacted, and whether they will change business as usual in Washington.

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