Government Matters Articles

Research Questions Cost-Efficiency of Privatization

Public debate over government contracting has centered largely on issues of accountability. But recent scholarship on the efficiency of using contractors to deliver government services shows that a broader discussion is warranted. The assumptions about the relative efficiency of government contracts are on shaky ground, and cost measurements show no clear advantage to private contractors. Holes in the Theory

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Congress, President Spar Over Children's Health Insurance

Congress overwhelmingly approved the State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) reauthorization at the end of September, with $35 billion in new funding that would provide health care coverage for about four million more uninsured children. As expected, President Bush vetoed the reauthorization, and the House is scheduled to hold what promises to be a close override vote on Oct. 18.

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Internet Access Tax: The Immodest Moratorium

With a federal moratorium on state and local Internet access taxes set to expire on Nov. 1, Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee Chair Daniel Inouye (D-HI) withdrew a bill on Sept. 27 that would extend the tax moratorium rather than face the likelihood members would approve a Republican-backed permanent moratorium. Inouye said a compromise among those seeking an extension of the moratorium and those proposing a permanent ban had not yet been worked out. There has been no formal action in the House to date, other than a full Small Business Committee hearing on Oct.

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Secrecy Surrounds Interrogation Practices

After Alberto Gonzales took over as Attorney General at the Justice Department in February 2005, the Department issued secret memoranda justifying extreme interrogation techniques, reported the New York Times in early October. The importance of such secret opinions and the lack of independent oversight was magnified on Oct. 9 when the U.S. Supreme Court refused to review a case involving the alleged secret rendition and torture of a German citizen.

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What You Don't Know Might Be More than You Think

Often, the first step in addressing any environmental or health issue is making sure the public is properly notified and informed. Several recent examples illustrate governmental failures, which too often occur, to perform even this basic informational task.

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EPA Cut Corners in TRI Rule

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) came under tough scrutiny at an Oct. 4 hearing of the House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Environment and Hazardous Materials for reducing the reporting standards of the Toxics Release Inventory (TRI) in December 2006.

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House Energy and Commerce Committee Proposes Climate Change Legislation Framework

The House Committee on Energy and Commerce and its Subcommittee on Energy and Air Quality issued the first in a series of white papers that will outline designs for complicated climate change legislation and regulation. The first white paper, released Oct. 3, outlines a design for a cap-and-trade program covering major greenhouse gases (GHG) that would form the cornerstone of comprehensive federal climate change legislation.

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States Sue Bush Administration over New Children's Health Insurance Requirements

Several states have sued the Bush administration over new policies governing the State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP). The suits follow broad opposition from state public health experts and congressional Democrats and Republicans who urged the administration to abandon the new policies. The suits also come as Congress attempts to reauthorize SCHIP after a presidential veto.

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Bush Administration Delays Import Safety Changes While Congress Debates Solutions

The Bush administration and several of its regulatory agencies have been reluctant to address the safety of consumer goods as more recalls of harmful toys and contaminated foods occur. They seem content to delay substantive changes that could improve product safety. Congress, meanwhile, is trying to sort through the many legislative proposals to restore regulatory capacity to agencies and fix the fragmented U.S. import system.

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Congress Avoids Tough Questions of FY 2008 War Funding

President Bush and Congress continue to deny the fiscal realities of prosecuting two simultaneous wars that cost about $12 billion per month. By classifying the president's FY 2008 $193 billion war funding request an "emergency supplemental" and stifling discussion of war financing, Congress sidesteps the critical task of setting and adequately funding national priorities.

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