Publications :  The Watcher :  OMB Watcher Vol. 8: 2007 :  May 30, 2007 Vol. 8, No. 11 : 

In This Issue

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Lobby Reform Bill Passes House without Grassroots Lobbying Disclosure (05/30/2007)
By a vote of 396-22, the House approved new lobbying reform legislation on May 24 when it passed the Honest Leadership and Open Government Act of 2007 (H.R. 2316). The bill increases the reporting requirements for registered lobbyists, establishes a new electronic disclosure system, imposes new penalties for violating lobbying laws, and includes the controversial proposal to require registered lobbyists to report their bundled campaign contributions (H.R. 2317). The bill will now go to conference committee with a similar Senate bill that was passed in January.

IRS Urged to Use Terror Watch Lists to Check Nonprofits (05/30/2007)
When it comes to the effectiveness of using watch lists to identify terrorist threats, theory and reality yield very different results. On May 21, the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration (TIGTA) issued a report criticizing the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) for not using the FBI's Terrorist Screening Center's (TSC) consolidated watch lists to check nonprofit tax filings for possible matches to suspected terrorists. At the same time, non-governmental groups have criticized the watch lists as being riddled with errors and said no clear reason exists as to why some people or groups are put on the lists. Additionally, a 2005 Justice Department Inspector General report confirmed many deficiencies with the TSC.

Congress Passes Supplemental; Cease-Fire in the Capital (05/30/2007)
The struggle between Congress and the White House over the $120 billion supplemental war funding bill ended last week when, on May 24, Congress sent President Bush a version of the bill that he signed into law. The final bill (H.R. 2206) — the largest supplemental spending bill in the history of the United States — also raises the minimum wage for the first time in over ten years, a fact that seems to have been lost in national news coverage.

Congress Approves Budget Resolution (05/30/2007)
On May 17, Congress achieved a basic benchmark of responsible fiscal governance — passing a final budget resolution. While this accomplishment has become somewhat of a rare event in Washington (spending in three of the past five fiscal years has not been guided by a budget resolution), and the votes were close (Senate 52-40, House 214-209), Democrats were able to reach final compromises on a few contentious issues.

Congress Demands Answers to USDA Security Breach (05/30/2007)
On April 13, a user of FedSpending.org, an online database on government spending run by OMB Watch, discovered that the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) was publishing personally identifiable information about a loan she received from the agency.

Congressional Hearing Reveals Flaws in Outsourcing Tax Debt Collection (05/30/2007)
On May 23, the House Ways and Means Committee heard testimony on the Internal Revenue Service's (IRS) private debt collection program that lets outside contractors pursue federal tax debts. At the hearing, Chairman Charles Rangel (D-NY) requested that the IRS not issue additional contracts to private collection agencies (PCAs).

States Battle Administration on Vehicle Emissions (05/30/2007)
At least 12 states are considering developing regulations for vehicle greenhouse gas emissions that would exceed federal standards. These states cannot promulgate the rules because the primary federal framework for air pollutant regulation, the Clean Air Act, reserves the federal government's right to block state efforts. Critics are charging the Bush administration with impeding the environmental progress of states and delaying meaningful regulation of vehicle emissions.

Senate Watching Carefully as Risk Guidelines Reemerge (05/30/2007)
Two senators sent a letter to White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Director Rob Portman urging OMB to abandon its plans for government-wide risk assessment standards. The letter comes shortly after the White House indicated it may renew its efforts on finalizing the standards.

Improved FOIA on Hold (05/30/2007)
On April 12, the Senate Judiciary Committee unanimously passed the Openness Promotes Effectiveness in Our National (OPEN) Government Act, sponsored by Sens. Patrick Leahy (D-VT) and John Cornyn (R-TX). However, the bill is now stuck after an unidentified senator placed an anonymous hold on the legislation that would improve the government's implementation of the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA). Increasing pressure is being brought to bear on the Senate to uncover the hold and move forward with the bill.

Oversight and Accountability of the Intelligence Community Strengthened (05/30/2007)
On May 24, the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence passed the 2008 Intelligence Authorization Bill, which includes a number of important open government and accountability measures. Having failed to pass an intelligence authorization bill for the previous two years, the full Senate is expected to consider the measure later this summer, and the House passed the bill 225-197 earlier in May.

Setback on Chemical Security (05/30/2007)
The effort to establish stronger chemical security measures suffered a significant setback the week of May 21 with the loss of a provision from the Iraq supplemental spending bill that would have prohibited the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) from preempting state law on matters of chemical security. In order to galvanize support for comprehensive chemical security reform, a group of public interest and environmental organizations wrote to Rep. Bennie Thompson (D-MS), Chairman of the Homeland Security Committee, and Rep. Sheila Jackson-Lee (D-TX), Chairwoman of the Homeland Security Subcommittee on Transportation Security and Infrastructure Protection. The letter encouraged the members to continue their work on ensuring strong chemical security protections.

Whistleblower Week in Washington Succeeds (05/30/2007)
The first national Washington Whistleblower Week (May 14-21) highlighted the importance of whistleblowers in our country and urged the Senate to pass new protections for whistleblowers. The week of events included participation by hundreds of whistleblowers and dozens of public interest organizations.

Coming to a Dump Near You -- Nuclear Waste (05/30/2007)
The Nuclear Information and Resource Service (NIRS), a nonprofit organization, released a report on May 14 that exposes Department of Energy (DOE) practices of dumping nuclear-related waste in facilities that are unregulated and not designed for radioactive material. NIRS found that DOE's policies and procedures are geared toward the "release of radioactive waste, materials and property from regulatory control."

EPA's Diagnosis of the Environment is Unclear (05/30/2007)
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) released its draft 2007 Report on the Environment: Science Report on May 10. The draft version of the report, open for public comment until June 25, attempts to provide a "snapshot" of the current state of the environment and its impact on Americans' health.

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