Publications :  The Watcher :  OMB Watcher Vol. 9: 2008 :  September 23, 2008 Vol. 9, No. 19 : 

In This Issue

---

Free Market Ends as Washington and Wall Street Merge (09/23/2008)
Following a string of guarantees, buy-outs, and bailouts for various financial firms, Congress is now rushing to authorize the Treasury Secretary to spend $700 billion to bail out the rest of Wall Street. Since its role in the sale of investment bank Bear Stearns to rival J.P. Morgan in March, the federal government has intervened three times in the nation's financial markets by using taxpayer dollars to prop up the value of various private banking and mortgage entities. While taxpayers ought to be concerned about the sums of money involved in these transactions, a more fundamental problem exists: the bottom-line cost is anybody's guess.

Commentary: On Bailouts, Congress Should Move with Great Care (09/23/2008)
The pace at which Congress is considering the largest intervention into financial markets in the history of the United States, if not the world, is shocking. Over the weekend, the Bush administration proposed legislation that would grant it the authority to buy up toxic financial assets in an amount equal to five percent of gross domestic product (GDP). The magnitude of the funds requisitioned is matched only by the administration's requested level of unchecked power and opacity in how it would execute this historic market intervention. Congress has responded with uncharacteristic haste, setting the stage for passage of monumentally flawed legislation that purports to fix a yet-undiagnosed problem in roughly one week.

Senate Clears Contracting Reforms after Resolving Earmark Dispute (09/23/2008)
The Senate passed important contracting reforms Sept. 17 when it approved the FY 2009 Defense Authorization Act (S. 3001) by an 88-8 vote. Among other measures, the legislation included a provision to create a national contractor misconduct database.

Key Tax Policy Items Remain Unresolved (09/23/2008)
Congress is scheduled to adjourn for the election season on Sept. 26, but a set of what many consider must-pass tax cut bills have yet to be sent to the president's desk. As differences between the House and Senate remain over offsets, and as a massive Wall Street bailout bill has grabbed the spotlight, final congressional approval of these measures before adjournment remains less than certain.

Veterans Administration Again Reverses Itself to Allow Some Voter Registration Drives (09/23/2008)
Over the past several months, support has been growing to allow voter registration efforts at Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) facilities. In a reverse of policy, the VA will no longer ban voter registration drives for veterans living at federally operated nursing homes, shelters for the homeless, and rehabilitation centers across the country. A week after this change, the House passed the Veterans Voter Support Act to legislatively protect such activity and to ensure that the VA allow voter registration drives by nonpartisan groups. However, the VA told a Senate committee that it opposes the legislation in its current form.

Voter Purging Allegations Arise as November Election Nears (09/23/2008)
As the November elections near, more allegations of voter purging are cropping up. Michigan, a closely watched swing state in the presidential election, has been a hotbed of voter purging issues in recent weeks. Florida, another swing state, also finds itself in the midst of voter purging issues. Nonprofit organizations, individual citizens, and political parties have recently filed lawsuits alleging that voters are being unlawfully removed from the eligible voter pools.

Organization's Election-Related Activities Raise Questions (09/23/2008)
The American Issues Project (AIP) has aired an ad in several swing states questioning Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama's ties to a controversial professor. The group claims a single $2.9 million donation for the ad does not violate federal campaign finance laws, but many legal experts have questioned this logic and AIP's claimed status as an issue advocacy organization.

EPA Failing on Children's Environmental Health Issues (09/23/2008)
The Government Accountability Office (GAO) told a Senate oversight committee Sept. 16 that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has ignored recommendations from an advisory committee established to assist the agency in creating policies to protect children's health. For example, in developing three recent air quality standards on particulate matter, ozone, and lead, EPA either rejected the committee's recommendations or treated them as one of many public comments, according to GAO.

Lobbyists, Allies in Congress Work to Derail Greenhouse Gas Limits (09/23/2008)
With the support of special interest lobbyists, congressional Republicans are pushing legislation to hinder the federal government's ability to address climate change. Proposed legislation would halt early efforts by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to place new limits on greenhouse gas emissions.

FBI to Increase Secret Powers in the Near Future (09/23/2008)
The Department of Justice (DOJ) plans to finalize secret changes to a secret rule that sets guidelines for the Federal Bureau of Investigation's (FBI) work. The changes will reportedly lower intelligence-gathering standards and could pose a significant threat to individual rights. Several senators have voiced strong concerns about the changes.

EPA's Assessments of Chemical Dangers -- Too Slow (09/23/2008)
A government investigation of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) process for assessing dangerous chemicals concludes the agency is so slow and lacking in credibility that the system is in "serious risk of becoming obsolete."

Senate and House Take Legislative Swings at Secrecy (09/23/2008)
The Senate introduced new legislation that would make it more difficult for the executive branch to establish secret policies. This effort followed the House's passage of legislation to reduce overuse of classification by security agencies.

Privacy Statement | Press Room | Site Map | Contact OMB Watch

© 2008 OMB Watch
1742 Connecticut Avenue, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20009
202-234-8494 (phone)
202-234-8584 (fax)

Combined Federal Campaign #10201

Please credit OMB Watch when redistributing this material.