OMB Watch Staff: Adam Hughes

Director, Federal Fiscal Policy

Adam Hughes joined OMB Watch in November of 2004 at a budget policy analyst to work on budget and tax policy. He now directs the federal fiscal policy program at OMB Watch, overseeing all aspects of the organization's work on the federal budget, tax policy, contracting oversight, IRS enforcement, income and wealth trends, and government performance issues.

While at OMB Watch, Adam has worked to bring more accountability to government spending decisions and to increase the transparency and accessibility of government spending data. In 2006, Adam helped lead an effort at OMB Watch to make the federal government's spending data more accessible to the public. This resulted in the launch of the FedSpending.org website in October, 2006, which was a major step forward in making government more accessible and understandable for the public. In late 2007, the software that powers FedSpending.org became the basis for a new government website (USASpending.gov) required under the 2006 Federal Accountability and Transparency Act and by June, 2008, FedSpending.org was processing over 1 million searches from 400,000 unique visitors per month. .

Prior to joining OMB Watch, Adam worked for two years as a Senior Policy Associate for the Coalition on Human Needs, an alliance of national organizations promoting public policies that address the needs of low-income and other vulnerable Americans. At CHN, Adam worked with federal policy concerning labor, employment and job training programs, tax and budget, housing and homelessness, food and nutrition, and education issues. He also managed the technology and communications systems for the Coalition.

Adam has also worked as a Policy Analyst at Physicians for Social Responsibility, a public health advocacy organization. There he coordinated legislative strategy and congressional relations for the Security program and was responsible for policy related to missile defense systems, non-proliferation programs, international arms control, and the defense budget.

Adam has a B.A. in Mathematics and Philosophy from Boston College and an M.A. in American Government from Georgetown University.