Obama and Coburn Shine Brighter Light on Government Spending

Sens. Barack Obama (D-IL) and Tom Coburn (R-OK) have joined forces again to craft legislation that would increase the transparency of how the federal government spends taxpayers' money. The Strengthening Transparency and Accountability in Federal Spending Act (S. 3077), introduced June 3, is a follow-up to the 2006 Transparency Act, which was also spearheaded by the two senators. Obama and Coburn, along with Sens. Tom Carper (D-DE) and John McCain (R-AZ), introduced the new legislation with the goals of making important new data easily accessible and enabling citizens to hold our government accountable for the fiscal stewardship of our shared resources.

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EPA Asks Public, "What Do You Want to Know?"

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has invited the public to participate in a week of online dialogue to develop ideas to improve access to environmental information.

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USDA Dropping Shroud over Pesticide Use Data

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced May 21 that it is eliminating the only program that tracks pesticide use in the United States. The USDA claimed it can no longer afford the program, known as the Agricultural Chemical Usage Reports. Consumers, environmental organizations, scientists, and farmers oppose the move.

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Whistleblower Week in Washington

Whistleblower advocates convene in Washington, DC, this week (May 12-16) for events dedicated to honoring whistleblowers, promoting their protection, and educating the public and Congress about the most pressing issues for whistleblowers today.

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Sunshine Week Arrives

The week of March 17 marks the third annual national Sunshine Week, a nonpartisan campaign to promote openness in government and access to public records.

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OMB Reports $508 Million in E-Gov Savings; Congress Remains Doubtful

The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) released a report to Congress Feb. 14 that calculates the benefits of President Bush's 24 E-Government (E-Gov) Initiatives at approximately $508 million in Fiscal Year 2007, based on agencies' estimates. Congressional skepticism of the Initiatives, and subsequent reluctance to fund them, led OMB to develop a questionable funding mechanism using agency contributions from their annual budgets.

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Polar Bears Get Their Day in Congress

At a Jan. 17 hearing, the Select Committee on Energy Independence and Global Warming questioned the true motives behind the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's (FWS) delay in deciding whether to list the polar bear as a threatened species.

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Right-Wing Groups Challenge Link Between Carcinogens, Cancer

Two right-wing, industry-backed groups filed a data quality petition with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) challenging the agency's labeling of certain chemicals as "likely human carcinogens." Specifically, the Washington Legal Foundation (WLF) and the American Council on Health and Science (ACHS) want EPA to eliminate statements in its Guidelines for Carcinogen Risk Assessment that indicate that a substance may properly be labeled as "likely to be carcinogenic to humans" based solely or primarily on the results of animal studies. Background

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OMB Watch Wins in Court for Access to Risk Management Data

After almost four years of silence, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) released updated information on Risk Management Plans (RMPs) filed by facilities with large quantities of hazardous chemicals onsite, in order to inform communities about the risks. The agency released the information to OMB Watch after the organization sued EPA for failing to respond to its request filed under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA). OMB Watch has posted the executive summaries of the RMPs on its Right to Know Network website.

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Flaws in Delaware's Open Records Law Keep Information out of Public Hands

Illogical exemptions and poor implementation appear to be preventing Delaware's Freedom on Information Act (FOIA) from fulfilling its purpose to provide the public with access to important government-held health and safety information. Delaware's News Journal conducted an investigation into the function of the state's open records law and found significant problems and loopholes.

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Congressional Report Uncovers Chemical Security Risks Throughout the Country

An analysis prepared for Rep. Edward Markey (D-MA) by the Congressional Research Service (CRS) reveals that chemical plants endanger millions of Americans in every state. The report demonstrates widespread problems with chemical security and highlights the need for a national policy that will reduce these risks.

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NIH AIDS Division Director Fired Possible Retaliation for Whistleblowing

Dr. Jonathan Fishbein, a National Institutes of Health (NIH) researcher and director of the AIDS research division's Office of Policy in Clinical Research Operations, blew the whistle on poor scientific practices and inappropriate, unprofessional conduct by the department. NIH fired Fishbein on July 1 citing poor job performance, in what some believe to be retaliation. A review report for the NIH director's office confirms many of the issues that Fishbein raised about the agency's AIDS research division, adding to the speculation that his dismissal constituted a retaliatory action.

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New York Assembly Passes New Environmental "Right to Know" Bill

The New York State Assembly passed the Environmental Community Right to Know Act of 2005 (A. 1952) on June 4. The bill would create a single location online for the public to access and search all environmental information collected by the state on hazardous substances released into the environment.

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EPA Announces E-rulemaking Online Forum, Public Meetings

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has announced a countrywide series of public forums for August on an eRulemaking Initiative. The four forums will be held in Boston, Chicago, San Francisco and Washington, D.C. In addition to EPA's public meetings, Harvard University is partnering with the eRulemaking Initiative to host an online dialogue during August. Details about the online dialogue will be released soon.

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New Report Explores Chemical Dangers from Power Plants

A new report by the Working Group on Community Right-to-Know estimates that 3.5 million Americans living near some 225 non-nuclear power plants are at risk from leaks or releases of gaseous ammonia or chlorine. It calls for these plants to switch to safer alternatives to ensure the safety of surrounding communities. The Working Group analyzed information submitted to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) from individual facilities. Facilities are required to assess the dangers they pose to the surrounding communities.

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Scientists Speak Out Against the Bush Administration

Last week the Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS) released updated evidence that the Bush administration continues to manipulate and control science for political reasons. UCS has now collected the signatures of more than 4,000 scientists supporting a statement urging the Bush administration to discontinue these troubling practices, and to restore scientific integrity in federal policymaking. The prestigious list of scientists taking this unprecedented stand includes 48 Nobel laureates, 62 national medal of science recipients, and 127 members of the National Academy of Sciences.

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OMB Watch Uncovers Flaws in OMB's Data Quality Report

The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) recently published a report to Congress that analyzes and summarizes federal agencies' first year of operations experience using the new information quality guidelines mandated under the Information Quality Act (IQA). The guidelines are supposed to ensure the quality, objectivity, utility, and integrity of information disseminated by federal agencies. The report provides OMB's perspective on the first year under the law and the IQA reports submitted to OMB from individual agencies.

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Bush Administration Refuses Congress Again, Hides Memos

Last week, Attorney General John Ashcroft testified before the Senate Judiciary Committee and repeatedly refused several Senators' requests to produce a copy of the recently leaked Justice Department memo that explored the legal justifications for torture.

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Politics, Not Science, Alters Air Quality Models

Government air quality modeling experts from around the country are opposing a new Bush administration policy, which they contend threatens air quality and public health. They are among a growing number of scientists and other critics, who charge the Bush administration with manipulating science to support predetermined political outcomes. Most significantly, this may be the first time such criticism has been leveled from scientists inside a federal agency.

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Kentucky Reconsiders Homeland Security Exemption for Open Records Law

After unsuccessfully pushing a bill to create a homeland security exemption to Kentucky's Open Records Act, Democratic Representative Mike Weaver intends to re-propose the bill after the state's homeland security director requested such a provision.

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