Publications :  The Watcher :  OMB Watcher Vol. 8: 2007 :  October 10, 2007 Vol. 8, No. 20 : 

In This Issue

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Bush Administration Delays Import Safety Changes While Congress Debates Solutions (10/10/2007)
The Bush administration and several of its regulatory agencies have been reluctant to address the safety of consumer goods as more recalls of harmful toys and contaminated foods occur. They seem content to delay substantive changes that could improve product safety. Congress, meanwhile, is trying to sort through the many legislative proposals to restore regulatory capacity to agencies and fix the fragmented U.S. import system.

States Sue Bush Administration over New Children's Health Insurance Requirements (10/10/2007)
Several states have sued the Bush administration over new policies governing the State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP). The suits follow broad opposition from state public health experts and congressional Democrats and Republicans who urged the administration to abandon the new policies. The suits also come as Congress attempts to reauthorize SCHIP after a presidential veto.

House Energy and Commerce Committee Proposes Climate Change Legislation Framework (10/10/2007)
The House Committee on Energy and Commerce and its Subcommittee on Energy and Air Quality issued the first in a series of white papers that will outline designs for complicated climate change legislation and regulation. The first white paper, released Oct. 3, outlines a design for a cap-and-trade program covering major greenhouse gases (GHG) that would form the cornerstone of comprehensive federal climate change legislation.

EPA Cut Corners in TRI Rule (10/10/2007)
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) came under tough scrutiny at an Oct. 4 hearing of the House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Environment and Hazardous Materials for reducing the reporting standards of the Toxics Release Inventory (TRI) in December 2006.

House Moves to Reform Expansive Surveillance Authority (10/10/2007)
On Oct. 9, the House introduced two bills to reform the Protect America Act (PAA), passed in haste before Congress' August recess. PAA grants the government the authority to wiretap anyone, including U.S. citizens, without court approval as long as the "target" of the surveillance is reasonably believed to be located outside the country.

Secrecy Surrounds Interrogation Practices (10/10/2007)
After Alberto Gonzales took over as Attorney General at the Justice Department in February 2005, the Department issued secret memoranda justifying extreme interrogation techniques, reported the New York Times in early October. The importance of such secret opinions and the lack of independent oversight was magnified on Oct. 9 when the U.S. Supreme Court refused to review a case involving the alleged secret rendition and torture of a German citizen.

What You Don't Know Might Be More than You Think (10/10/2007)
Often, the first step in addressing any environmental or health issue is making sure the public is properly notified and informed. Several recent examples illustrate governmental failures, which too often occur, to perform even this basic informational task.

Congress Avoids Tough Questions of FY 2008 War Funding (10/10/2007)
President Bush and Congress continue to deny the fiscal realities of prosecuting two simultaneous wars that cost about $12 billion per month. By classifying the president's FY 2008 $193 billion war funding request an "emergency supplemental" and stifling discussion of war financing, Congress sidesteps the critical task of setting and adequately funding national priorities.

Congress, President Spar Over Children's Health Insurance (10/10/2007)
Congress overwhelmingly approved the State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) reauthorization at the end of September, with $35 billion in new funding that would provide health care coverage for about four million more uninsured children. As expected, President Bush vetoed the reauthorization, and the House is scheduled to hold what promises to be a close override vote on Oct. 18.

Research Questions Cost-Efficiency of Privatization (10/10/2007)
Public debate over government contracting has centered largely on issues of accountability. But recent scholarship on the efficiency of using contractors to deliver government services shows that a broader discussion is warranted. The assumptions about the relative efficiency of government contracts are on shaky ground, and cost measurements show no clear advantage to private contractors.

Internet Access Tax: The Immodest Moratorium (10/10/2007)
With a federal moratorium on state and local Internet access taxes set to expire on Nov. 1, Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee Chair Daniel Inouye (D-HI) withdrew a bill on Sept. 27 that would extend the tax moratorium rather than face the likelihood members would approve a Republican-backed permanent moratorium. Inouye said a compromise among those seeking an extension of the moratorium and those proposing a permanent ban had not yet been worked out. There has been no formal action in the House to date, other than a full Small Business Committee hearing on Oct. 3 on the potential negative impact on small businesses of allowing the Internet tax moratorium to expire.

Conference Focuses on E-mail Frustration Felt by Congress and Advocacy Groups (10/10/2007)
On Oct.1, the Congressional Management Foundation (CMF), a nonpartisan nonprofit organization working to improve the effectiveness of Congress, held a forum on constituent communications with Congress. The goal of the conference was to "identify ways to make it easier for citizens to express their views to Congress in an effective way and for congressional offices to manage and get value from the communications they receive." The massive amount of e-mail Congress receives from constituents was the main topic of discussion. Both nonprofit advocacy groups and congressional staffers agreed that the current approach to e-mail communications works for neither side, but they were unable to find common ground on solutions. CMF will release a draft report in early 2008 on the conference and its research on the topic, with the goal of fostering a new model of constituent communications with Congress.

Nonprofits File Comments on Proposed Electioneering Communications Rule (10/10/2007)
On Oct. 1, comments were due to the Federal Election Commission (FEC) on its proposed new rules to make the agency's regulations consistent with the U.S. Supreme Court decision in FEC v. Wisconsin Right to Life (WRTL II). That case held that paid broadcasts that cannot be reasonably interpreted as appeals to vote for or against a federal candidate must be allowed to air in the period before federal elections. These broadcasts were restricted by law. The FEC will hold a hearing on Oct. 17, and it plans to vote on a final rule by the end of November, in time for the presidential primaries.

Congress Misses Oversight Opportunity on Charities and Anti-Terrorist Financing Laws (10/10/2007)
Both houses of Congress have now approved S. 1612, a bill that expands penalties for violations of economic sanctions against countries like Iran and designated terrorist organizations. The bill also expands the scope of prohibited activity to include vaguely defined conspiracy and aiding and abetting language that could lead to unpredictable results for the unwary. While penalty increases were needed to address violations by companies like Chiquita, which paid a designated terrorist organization for protection in Colombia, passage of the bill without review of how the economic sanctions laws negatively impact humanitarian aid, development and human rights programs could prolong what is seen as a bad situation. OMB Watch is among the nonprofits that are calling for congressional oversight of the difficulties charities face.

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