Testimony, Comments, and Sign-on Letters to Government

OMB Watch periodically provides testimony, statements or questions for the record, and comments to Congress and other governmental bodies. OMB Watch also periodically joins sign-on letters on a variety of issues. This page contains a selection of such material. The list below is in reverse chronological order.

Testimony

• Craig Jennings [1], Testimony to the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, June 14, 2011. Subject: Achieving Transparency and Accountability in Federal Spending
• Craig Jennings [2], Written Testimony to the Subcommittee on the Constitution of the House Committee on the Judiciary, May 18, 2011. Subject: Whether the Constitution Should be Amended to Address the Federal Deficit
• Craig Jennings [3], Written Testimony to the Subcommittee on Technology, Information Policy, Intergovernmental Relations and Procurement Reform of the House Committee on Oversight and Reform, March 11, 2011. Subject: Transparency Through Technology: Evaluating Federal Open-Government Initiatives
• Matt Madia [4], Testimony to the President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology, Nov. 4, 2010. Subject: Overdue Scientific Integrity Recommendations and Executive Order
• Gary Bass [5], Testimony to the Subcommittee on Commercial and Administrative Law of the House Judiciary Committee, July 27, 2010. Subject: Federal Rulemaking and the Regulatory Process
• Gary Therkildsen [6], Testimony to the National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform, June 30, 2010. Subject: Improving the Fiscal Situation of the Federal Budget
• Adam Hughes [7], Testimony to the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Subcommittee on Contracting Oversight, Sept. 29, 2009. Subject: Problems with Federal Contracting Databases
• Gary Bass [8], Testimony to the Subcommittee on Investigations and Oversight of the House Committee on Science and Technology, May 5, 2009. Subject: Accountability and Oversight of Funding Provided in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (Recovery Act)
• Rick Melberth [9], Testimony to the Subcommittee on Investigations and Oversight of the House Committee on Science and Technology, April 30, 2009. Subject: The Role of Science in Regulatory Reform
• Gary Bass [10], Testimony to the Subcommittee on Commercial and Administrative Law of the House Committee on the Judiciary, Feb. 4, 2009. Subject: Midnight Rulemaking: Shedding Some Light
• Rick Melberth [11], Testimony to the Subcommittee on Commercial and Administrative Law of the House Committee on the Judiciary, May 6, 2008. Subject: The Rulemaking Process and the Unitary Executive Theory
• Gary Bass [12], Testimony to the Subcommittee on Investigations and Oversight of the House Committee on Science and Technology, April 26, 2007. Subject: George W. Bush Executive Order 13422
• Rick Melberth [13], Testimony to the Subcommittee on Investigations and Oversight of the House Committee on Science and Technology, Feb. 13, 2007. Subject: George W. Bush Executive Order 13422
• Gary Bass [14], Testimony to the Subcommittee on Federal Financial Management of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, July 18, 2006. Subject: What You Don’t Know Can Hurt You: S. 2590, the Federal Funding Accountability and Transparency Act
• Adam Hughes [15], Testimony to the Senate Homeland Security and Government Affairs Subcommittee on Federal Financial Management, Government Information, and International Security, June 13, 2006. Subject: Government Performance and Results Act and the Performance Assessment Rating Tool

Questions and Statements for the Record

• Statement to Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee and Senate Budget Committee on OMB Director Nominee Nussle [16], July 23, 2007
• Suggested Questions for OMB Director Nominee Nussle [17], July 16, 2007
• Statement for the Hearing on Internal Revenue Service's Use of Private Debt Collection Companies to Collect Federal Income Taxes [18], House Ways and Means Committee, May 23, 2007

Comments

• Comment on Disclosure of Certain Credit Card Complaint Data (76 FR 76628) [19], OMB Watch submission to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), Jan. 30, 2012
• Comment on Disclosure of Certain Credit Card Complaint Data (76 FR 76628) [20], joint submission to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), Jan. 30, 2012
• Comments on Federal Acquisition Regulation; Privacy Training (76 FR 63896) [21], to the Federal Acquisition Regulatory (FAR) Council, Dec. 13, 2011.
• Comments on Safeguarding Unclassified DOD Information (76 FR 38089) [22], to the Department of Defense (DOD), Nov. 30, 2011.
• Comments on the Compensation Data Collection Tool [23], to the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs, Department of Labor (DOL), Oct. 11, 2011.
• Comments on Disclosure of Records and Information (76 FR 45372) [24], to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), Sept. 26, 2011.
• Comments on Future Direction of the Federal Depository Library Program [25], to the Government Printing Office (GPO), Sept. 16, 2011.
• Comments on Draft Scientific Integrity Policy [26], to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Sept. 6, 2011
• Recommendations for Improving Government Openness and Effectiveness in the U.S. [27], to the U.S. Open Government Partnership Team, Aug. 30, 2011
• Comments on Draft Scientific Integrity Policy and Procedural Handbook [28], to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Aug. 19, 2011
• Comments on Proposed Privacy Act Exemptions (76 FR 39315) [29], to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), Aug. 5, 2011 (with 17 other organizations)
• Comments on Implementation of the Freedom of Information Act (76 FR 17038) [30], to the Financial Stability Oversight Council (FSOC), May 27, 2011
• Comments on Executive Order 13571 (Streamlining Service Delivery and Improving Customer Service) [31], to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), May 13, 2011
• Comments on Freedom of Information Act Regulations [32], to the Department of Justice (DOJ), April 20, 2011
• Comments on Retrospective Review of Rules [33], to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), April 4, 2011 (with 13 other organizations)
• Comments on the President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology report, Designing a Digital Future: Federally Funded Research and Development in Networking and Information Technology [34], to the Networking and Information Technology Research and Development Program, Jan. 31, 2011
• Comments on the ExpertNet Platform Concept [35], to the General Services Administration (GSA), Jan. 21, 2011
• Comments on the Department of the Interior Proposed Scientific Integrity Policy [36], to the U.S. Department of the Interior, Sept. 20, 2010 (with 11 other organizations)
• Comments on FAR Subaward Reporting [37], to the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) Council, Sept. 7, 2010
• Comments on Mandatory Reporting of Greenhouse Gases – Proposed Rule Amendment [38], to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), June 11, 2010
• Comments on Addition of National Toxicology Program Carcinogens; Community Right-to-Know Toxic Chemical Release Reporting [39], to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), June 7, 2010
• Comments on Notice of Proposed OFPP Policy Letter, Work Reserved for Performance by Federal Government Employees [40], to the Office of Federal Procurement Policy (OFPP), June 1, 2010
• Comments on the Public Availability of Identities of Inert Ingredients in Pesticides [41], to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), April 23, 2010
• Comments on Coordinated Communications [42], to the Federal Election Commission (FEC), Jan. 19, 2010
• Comments on Improving Implementation of the Paperwork Reduction Act [43], to the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA), Dec. 26, 2009
• Comments on the Federal Awardee Performance and Integrity Information System [44], to the General Services Administration (GSA), Nov. 5, 2009
• Comments to the Food and Drug Administration Transparency Task Force [45], Aug. 7, 2009
• Comments on the Government Contracting Memorandum [46], to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), July 17, 2009
• Comments on E-Rulemaking Reforms [47], to the White House Open Government Initiative, July 2, 2009
• Comments on EPA’s Proposed Mandatory Greenhouse Gas Registry [48], to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, June 5, 2009
• Comments on Priorities for IRS 2009-2010 Guidance Priority List [49], to the Internal Revenue Service, May 29, 2009
• Comments on President Obama’s Memorandum on Scientific Integrity [50], to the Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP), May 13, 2009
• Comments on Request for Input; Development of Alternative Models for Presidential Libraries [51], to the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA), April 24, 2009
• Comments on USAID's Partner Vetting System [52], to the U.S. Agency for International Development, March 4, 2009
• Comments on President Obama’s Call for Recommendations to Improve Regulatory Review [53], to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), Feb. 18, 2009
• Comments on the Revision of Department of Energy’s Freedom of Information Act Regulations [54], to the Department of Energy (DOE), Jan. 8, 2009
• Comments on Federal Election Commission Agency Procedures [55], to the Federal Election Commisson (FEC), Jan. 5, 2009
• Comments on USAID's Partner Vetting System [56], to the U.S. Agency for International Development, Aug. 27, 2007
• Comments on the Draft 2007 Report to Congress on the Costs and Benefits of Federal Regulations [57], to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), June 11, 2007
• Comments on the Draft 2006 Report to Congress on the Costs and Benefits of Federal Regulations [58], to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), Aug. 18, 2006
• Comments on the Draft 2005 Report to Congress on the Costs and Benefits of Federal Regulations [59], to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), June 22, 2005
• Comments on the Draft 2004 Report to Congress on the Costs and Benefits of Federal Regulations [60], to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), May 20, 2004

Sign-on Letters

• Letter opposing the Research Works Act (H.R.3699, which would block free public access to taxpayer-funded scientific research at the National Institutes for Health and other agencies) [61], to Reps. Darrell Issa (R-CA) and Elijah Cummings (D-MD), Feb. 9, 2012
• Letter opposing the Federal Communications Commission Process Reform Act (H.R. 3309) and the FCC Consolidated Reporting Act (H.R. 3310) (which would add procedural hurdles to the Federal Communications Commission's (FCC) ability to protect consumers and eliminating crucial information collection authority) [62], to Reps. Fred Upton (R-MI) and Henry Waxman (D-CA), Feb. 9, 2012
• Letter expressing support of recent proposals to expand public access to information about programming and advertising on local broadcast television [63], to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), Jan. 17, 2012
• Letter on restoring funding to the Electronic Government Fund (H.R. 2354) [64], to the U.S. Senate, Nov. 16, 2011
• Letter asking the U.S. Supreme Court to televise oral arguments on the Affordable Care Act [65], to Chief Justice John Roberts, Nov. 16, 2011
• Letter in support of the Federal Advisory Committee Act Amendments of 2011 (H.R. 3124) [66], to Reps. Darrell Issa (R-CA) and Elijah Cummings (D-MD), Oct. 12, 2011
• Letter calling for a Presidential Advisory Committee on Open Government [67], to OIRA Administrator Cass Sunstein and OSTP Chief Technology Officer Aneesh Chopra, Sept. 8, 2011
• Letter regarding nomination of remaining individuals to crucial Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board [68], to President Barack Obama, Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano, Attorney General Eric Holder, and Director of National Intelligence James Clapper, Aug. 25, 2011
• Letter opposing the SEC Regulatory Accountability Act (H.R. 2308, which would add procedural hurdles to Security and Exchange Commission rulemaking) [69], to the U.S. House, Aug. 17, 2011
• Letter expressing concern over the consultation process for the development of the U.S. Government's participation in the Open Government Partnership [70], to Mr. Cass R. Sunstein and Mr. Aneesh Chopra, Aug. 16, 2011
• Letter urging leadership to restore Faster FOIA provisions to debt bill [71], to House and Senate leadership, July 28, 2011
• Letter urging opposition to any balanced budget amendment to the U.S. Constitution [72], to members of Congress, July 13, 2011
• Letter urging veto of any rollback of the Clean Air Act [73], to President Barack Obama, June 23, 2011
• Letter on restoring funding to the Electronic Government Fund [74], to the Subcommittee on Financial Services and General Government of the House Appropriations Committee, June 13, 2011
• Letter on the Senate Campaign Disclosure Parity Act of 2011 (S. 219, relating to electronic filing of Senate campaign finance disclosure reports) [75], to the U.S. Senate, June 9, 2011
• Letter on making Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's (CFPB) complaint database accessible to the public [76], to Catherine West and Zixta Martinez of the CFPB, May 25, 2011
• Letter on anti-whistleblower bill from Rep. Michael Grimm (R-NY) [77], to Reps. Spencer Bachus (R-AL), Barney Frank (D-MA), Scott Garrett (R-NJ), and Maxine Waters (D-CA), May 24, 2011
• Letter on the Congressionally Mandated Reports Act [78], to Reps. Darrell Issa (R-CA), Elijah Cummings (D-MD), Daniel Lungren (R-CA), and Robert Brady (D-PA), May 10, 2011
• Letter on the April 13, 2011, draft executive order on contractor disclosure of political spending [79], to President Barack Obama, May 4, 2011
• Letter on removing "anti-speech" policy from intelligence authorization bill [80], to the U.S. Senate, April 20, 2011
• Letter on The Transparency and Openness in Government Act (H.R. 1144) [81], to Reps. Darrell Issa (R-CA) and Elijah Cummings (D-MD), April 18, 2011
• Letter on legislation to authorize and promote the public distribution of reports that are published by the Congressional Research Service (CRS) [82], to Sens. Joseph Lieberman (I-CT) and Susan Collins (R-ME), April 5, 2011
• Letter on response to U.S. Supreme Court decision in Milner v. Dept. of Navy [83], to White House Counsel Robert Bauer, March 31, 2011