Reports
How Nonprofits Helped America Vote: 2008 showcases specific examples to illustrate how nonprofit organizations stepped to the plate to help voters and communities. The report describes nonprofit efforts to make the election process seamless from state to state and to promote fair environments for constituents to vote in the 2008 election.
The Bush administration rushed out a host of problematic regulations in its final months. Many of these "midnight" regulations actually represent deregulatory actions that weaken or eliminate safeguards protecting health, safety, the environment, and the public's general welfare. This report, produced by OMB Watch and the Center for American Progress, explores how those rules came to be and what the Obama administration and Congress may be able to do about them.
This report shows that attacks on a variety of common-sense regulations over the past eight years have taken a great toll on the United States. Though not intended to serve as a comprehensive record of every anti-regulatory effort by the Bush administration, this report uses clear examples to document a wide range of activity. The storytelling style of the report, crafted by freelance writer and author Osha Gray Davidson, helps readers begin to understand how much damage has been done under the watch of George W. Bush and his vice president, Richard B. Cheney.
This paper is the result of collaborative research conducted by OMB Watch and Grantmakers Without Borders. We believe charities in the United States and throughout the world play a key role in democratic systems by giving citizens a vehicle for participation, providing tools and information that help people get involved, and delivering assistance to those in need. Since Sept. 11, 2001, we have witnessed counterterrorism programs erode the freedom and ability of charities and their funders to carry out their missions and improve the lives of the world's people. We hope this paper will serve as a resource for charities, foundations, and policymakers as they seek to understand the impacts that counterterrorism measures have on charities and as they look to develop more equitable policies that protect the inherent rights of charities and the people the organizations serve.
A significant and pernicious problem facing the nation is the tax gap, the difference between what is owed in taxes and what is paid. Estimated to be over $300 billion annually, the tax gap represents an enormous revenue loss for the government. This lack of revenue often causes unnecessary increases in annual deficits and the national debt, increasing national interest payments and adding pressure to cut vital government services. Unfortunately, much of the gap must be made up eventually by honest taxpayers through higher taxes and by beneficiaries of federal investments through service cuts. Bridging the Tax Gap: The Case for Increasing the IRS Budget illustrates some of the factors that perpetuate the tax gap and offers practical solutions to the problem.
Overcaution and Confusion: The Impact of Ambiguous IRS Regulation of Political Activities by Charities and the Potential for Change contextualizes the points of consensus and debate that emerged during an Aug. 3, 2007, panel discussion on the potential for establishing a bright-line rule for the Internal Revenue Service's (IRS) enforcement of the prohibition against partisan intervention in elections by charities and religious organizations.
An Attack on Cancer Research: Industry's Obstruction of the National Toxicology Program illustrates how, over the past five years, industry has repeatedly misused the Data Quality Act (DQA) to suppress important cancer-related information from the National Toxicology Program (NTP). The report also provides recommendations for NTP and other government programs and agencies regarding the implementation of DQA.
How Nonprofits Helped America Vote: 2006 describes nonprofits' electoral engagement during the 2006 election and their preparation for upcoming elections. First, the report highlights how nonprofits are defending voters' rights against attacks, including tactics meant to suppress and intimidate voters, new voter ID requirements, and limitations on voter registration drives. Next, the report describes how nonprofits are working to protect the integrity of our elections. The report then surveys the activities that may be viewed as more traditional voter engagement and mobilization efforts. The report closes by urging nonprofits to help America vote in 2007 and 2008 and includes a list of resources for nonprofits who want more information on how they can do so.
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