Publications :  The Watcher :  OMB Watcher Vol. 8: 2007 :  October 23, 2007 Vol. 8, No. 21 : 

In This Issue

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While Feds Dither, States Move to Regulate Greenhouse Gases (10/23/2007)
The Kansas Department of Health and Environment (KDHE) has rejected an air permit for proposed power plants due to the threat of the resulting greenhouse gas emissions. The decision makes Kansas the latest state to take proactive steps to stem greenhouse gas emissions while federal agencies and Congress delay action and White House officials continue to question climate science.

Bush Administration Tries to Reverse Old-Growth Forest Protection Plan (10/23/2007)
The U.S. Bureau of Land Management (BLM) is trying to dismantle a 1994 landmark management plan that balances logging, endangered species and old-growth forest protections. BLM wants to revise the Northwest Forest Plan (NWFP) to allow logging on nearly one million acres of old-growth forest area included in the plan that protect habitats for species such as the northern spotted owl, salmon and other old-growth-dependent species. The proposed revisions ignore scientific recommendations, and the process appears to have been manipulated by Bush administration officials in Washington.

Report Finds Extensive Noncompliance with Clean Water Act Rules (10/23/2007)
A new report has found thousands of facilities are out of compliance with the requirements of the Clean Water Act. The report blames declining support for environmental enforcement during the Bush administration as a major cause of the regulatory violations. The U.S. Public Interest Research Group (U.S. PIRG), a nonprofit organization working on environmental policy and public outreach, published the report titled Troubled Waters: An Analysis of 2005 Clean Water Act Compliance.

Senate Bill Grants Immunity to Telecom Companies, House Bill Stalled (10/23/2007)
The Senate Intelligence Committee recently passed a bill that would grant retroactive immunity to telecommunications companies involved in the National Security Agency's (NSA) warrantless wiretapping program. The same week, the House pulled a bill that would increase judicial oversight and accountability over the administration's surveillance efforts.

California Restores TRI Reporting for the State (10/23/2007)
When California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger (R) signed the California Toxic Release Inventory Act of 2007 (Assembly Bill 833) into law on Oct. 13, California became the first state to pass legislation to undo the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) December 2006 weakening of the Toxics Release Inventory (TRI). The new state law establishes the threshold for detailed reporting at 500 pounds of a listed toxic chemical, which was the original threshold for the TRI program before EPA changed the regulations to reduce the reporting burden on companies.

CIA Investigates Its Own Watchdog, the Inspector General (10/23/2007)
In a disconcerting development, the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) is investigating its own watchdog, the Inspector General of the CIA. Sens. Jay Rockefeller (D-WV) and Kit Bond (R-MO), chairman and vice chairman, respectively, of the Senate Intelligence Committee, Sen. Ron Wyden (D-OR), and other members of Congress expressed concern that such an investigation compromises the independence and integrity of the CIA's Office of the Inspector General (OIG).

Transparency in the Election Spotlight (10/23/2007)
Popular thinking tells us that for any trend, fad or heavily pursued activity, the pendulum will eventually swing back the other way. As we approach the 2008 elections, this may well be the case for government transparency, which, after years of increasing government secrecy, appears to be getting greater attention than ever before.

House Conservatives Sink SCHIP (10/23/2007)
Despite a considerable lobbying campaign by supporters, House Republicans blocked an effort to override President Bush's veto of a five-year, $35 billion funding increase for the State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) that would have provided an additional 4 million uninsured children with health insurance.

AMT: Prospects for Reform and the PAYGO Challenge (10/23/2007)
In the coming weeks, Congress will come to grips with what is arguably the most important tax issue of the year, the Alternative Minimum Tax (AMT). In the very near future, House Ways and Means Committee Chair Charles Rangel (D-NY) will propose a "patch" to avoid a steep increase in the number of taxpayers liable under the AMT, as well as what he calls "the mother of all tax bills" — his long-awaited measure to repeal the AMT. In the Senate, the picture is more muddled amid rancorous debates in the Finance Committee, where AMT legislation presents the biggest challenge yet to the pay-as-you-go (PAYGO) principles adopted by Congress early this year.

Labor-HHS Appropriations to Test Bush Veto Threats (10/23/2007)
Congress is nearly ready to send President Bush the first appropriations bill of the FY 2008 budget cycle — almost one full month overdue. The Senate is scheduled to vote today, Oct. 23, on the $150 billion Labor-HHS-Education appropriations bill. Once that version is conferenced with the House version (which passed in July 276-140), it will be sent to the president, where it may face a veto.

No Conviction, Mistrial for Holy Land Foundation (10/23/2007)
On Oct. 22, a federal jury in Texas deadlocked on all charges against the Holy Land Foundation (HLF) and most of the charges against five of its leaders. All were accused of supporting terrorism. The former board chair and endowment director, Mohammed el-Mezain, was acquitted of 31 of 32 charges against him, with the jury deadlocking on the remaining charge. The government has indicated that it will retry the case. It will face the same problems it faced in this trial: secret evidence that unraveled when subjected to scrutiny and the fact that none of the charities HLF was accused of funding are on government lists of terrorist organizations.

Whistleblower Case Reveals Possible Political Campaign Intervention (10/23/2007)
Three former Oral Roberts University (ORU) professors filed a lawsuit on Oct. 2 in Tulsa, OK, against the university, alleging they were wrongfully fired after they reported the private school's involvement in a local political race. They claim that ORU President Richard Roberts directed former government professor Tim Brooker to use his students and resources to support the 2005 mayoral campaign of Tulsa County Commissioner Randi Miller. This use of university resources would violate the institution's tax-exempt status. Roberts has denied wrongdoing but was granted a leave of absence on Oct.17. The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has notified ORU that it is conducting an investigation into the matter.

Nonprofits Briefed on Myths and Facts of the Financial War on Terror (10/23/2007)
Nonprofits concerned with the impact of counterterrorism programs on charities were briefed on the larger context of the "financial war on terror" by Professor Ibrahim Warde, author of the new book The Price of Fear, at an Oct. 19 luncheon in Washington, DC. Warde argued that the series of financial crackdowns initiated by the U.S. government since the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, have had virtually no impact on terrorism because they are based on a fundamental misconception of how terrorism works. He proposed reforms that would avoid collateral damage, including the negative impact on charitable programs.

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