OMB Watch Op-Eds

Chronicle of Philanthropy Op-Ed: New Deficit Deal Should Make Nonprofit World Quake

After the debt-ceiling deal was struck, Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner remarked, “It was a terrible process but a good result.” Many people will question the result, but no one will disagree with his assessment of the process. It has left Americans disgusted with Washington and more cynical about government. That may be the worst legacy of the debt-ceiling negotiations.

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Reducing Influence Peddling in Government Contracting

In this piece, Gary Therkildsen and Gary D. Bass of OMB Watch argue that the federal government, namely the executive branch, must get serious about making public the information on any and all lobbying related to the federal procurement process. The authors use the Boeing tanker contract scandal as an illustration of the need for reform. This piece appeared as part of the "Solutions: Making Government Work" column on Truthout.

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The Wrong Approach to the Deficit Could Imperil More than Just the Recovery

by Craig Jennings, OMB Watch, Jan. 24, 2011
When President Obama delivers the State of the Union address Tuesday, one topic he will likely devote many words to will be the nation’s finances. For months, we’ve heard calls from all sides to “rein in the deficit” – a deficit so massive that, if some politicians are to be believed, it may plunge the nation into another Dark Ages. If Obama echoes these unceasing cries coming from inside the Beltway and sets forth a budget plan designed to meet the needs of Washington politics and not the nation, he could imperil the nascent economic recovery and future growth while stifling public protections, the effectiveness of the federal workforce, and the economic well being of millions of families.

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Obama and Open Government: Turning Vision into Reality

By Gary D. Bass, OMB Watch
Simultaneously published Jan. 5, 2011 in the Huffington Post
On his first full day in office, President Obama promised an administration premised on transparency, participation, and collaboration. If Obama is successful in transforming government in this way, what does that mean for you?

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Obama's Regulatory Enforcement Shows That Government Can Play a Positive Role

By Matthew Madia, OMB Watch
Simultaneously published Dec. 20, 2010 in the Huffington Post
In its first two years, the Obama administration stepped up the enforcement of rules meant to protect the environment, workers, and consumers, according to a new OMB Watch report. This activity is a welcome development after years of regulatory negligence that likely played a part in the worst environmental disaster in U.S. history and the most fatal coal mine disaster in 40 years.

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Obama Tax Cut Compromise Capitulates on Estate Tax

By Gary D. Bass, OMB Watch
Simultaneously published Dec. 7, 2010 in the Huffington Post
President Obama's tax cut deal with congressional Republicans, if enacted by Congress, will achieve what President George W. Bush could not get done: create a path to effectively kill the estate tax.

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GOP 'Pledge' Is Simply a Way of Shutting Down a Large Part of Government

By Gary D. Bass, OMB Watch
Simultaneously published Sept. 23, 2010 in the Huffington Post
As Yogi Berra's redundant saying goes, "It's déjà vu all over again." Back in 1994, congressional Republicans unveiled what they called the "Contract with America." The Contract was chock-full of policy proposals intended to shrink the size of government, kneecap agencies' ability to protect the public, and decrease the burden on taxpayers, especially the rich.

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Another Shameful Attack on Our Public Protections

By Gary D. Bass, OMB Watch
Simultaneously published July 21, 2010 in the Huffington Post
There they go again. Amid some of the most spectacular market failures the country has ever seen, business lobbyists and their friends in Congress want to reinvigorate their discredited deregulatory agenda.

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Will USDA's Food Safety Agency Ever Have a Leader?

by Matthew Madia, OMB Watch
Published on The Fine Print (June 3, 2010) and Food Safety News (June 7, 2010)

Food Safety News reported June 3 that there is no timetable for moving the nomination of Elisabeth Hagen to the Senate floor. Hagen, currently the chief medical officer at USDA, is the nominee to lead the Food Safety and Inspection Service, the USDA agency responsible for ensuring the safety of meat and poultry products.

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Could These Corporate Failures Have Been Prevented?

By Gary D. Bass, OMB Watch
Simultaneously published May 20, 2010 in The Huffington Post
In recent months, failures at BP's Deepwater Horizon Gulf of Mexico facility injured and likely killed 11 oil rig workers and spawned an unprecedented environmental catastrophe; an explosion at Massey Energy's Upper Big Branch mine in West Virginia killed 29 miners; and a recall of millions of Toyota vehicles occurred after an acceleration defect was linked to injuries and deaths.

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