The last six years of fiscal policy under the Bush Administration have been a bad deal for 99 percent of Americans, according to two reports released last week by Citizens for Tax Justice (CTJ). The first of the reports, The Bush Tax Cuts: Is Your State Better Off?, examines who in each state has benefited from Bush's tax policy. To more accurately represent the long-term effects of the tax cuts, the report not only shows the size of the tax breaks received by each income group, but also the disproportionate share of the increased national debt that each group must pay off.

On Sept. 27, Sen. James Inhofe (R-OK) introduced S.3957, the Religious Freedom Act of 2006, which would prevent houses of worship from losing their tax-exempt status if they speak out on "public issues, election contests, and pending legislation made in a theological or philosophical context." The bill was sparked by increased scrutiny on religious and charitable organizations as specific cases of possible partisan campaign intervention have come to light. Similar legislation has failed to pass in the House during this Congress.

On Sept. 29, 2006 the U.S. Department of the Treasury released the third version since 2002 of its Anti-Terrorist Financing Guidelines: Voluntary Best Practices for U.S.-Based Charities. The new Guidelines come after Treasury requested public comments on the Dec. 2005 revision of the original Guidelines. In an annex to the latest version, Treasury provides an unconvincing explanation of its perception that abuse of charities by terrorists is a substantial problem. Treasury also uses the latest version to place greater emphasis on the voluntary nature of the guidelines.

On Oct. 10, OMB Watch will open a window through which any American can see just how our federal government spends. With generous support from the Sunlight Foundation, we have created a new searchable website, FedSpending.org, that will let the public see who is getting federal contracts and other financial assistance, and how much is being spent on government programs and in specific states and congressional districts. FedSpending.org is unprecedented - and long overdue.