Government Matters Articles

Scrambling to Offset Katrina Costs, Republicans Continue Dangerous Fiscal Policy

After five years of ill-conceived and reckless tax and budget policies that have led the federal government to be deeply in debt, weak, and vulnerable, Republican congressional leaders and the White House are now talking about fiscal responsibility in the aftermath of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. While nearly all the current proposals emerging from Congress and the administration are cloaked in the rhetoric of balancing the budget, this serves simply to hide their one-sided emphasis on shrinking the role of government through cutting spending rather than increasing revenue.

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Gag Orders Extended; Library Consortium Must Remain Silent

The U.S. Court of Appeals extended a gag order on a library consortium that received a National Security Letter (NSL) while it considers a lower court ruling that the organization has a First Amendment right to fully participate in the discussion surrounding the USA PATRIOT Act. The gag order is preventing the NSL recipient, an unidentified member of the American Library Association, from discussing its experience openly and participating in the broader debate about the controversial legislation.

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House Effort to Create Sunset, Results Commissions Meets Resistance

A House hearing on White House proposals to overhaul the federal government was marked by criticism of their "good government" justifications and impassioned arguments about separation of powers. The Sunset and Results Commissions The House Government Reform Subcommittee on Federal Workforce and Agency Organization held a hearing Sept. 27 on two bills that advance a White House proposal for fast-track reorganization authority and mandatory program sunsets.

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EPA May Be Next for Power to Waive Law

The push to establish an Imperial Presidency kicked into overdrive when Sen. James Inhofe (R-OK) introduced a bill that would give the Environmental Protection Agency the power to waive or weaken the law for matters related to Hurricane Katrina.

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Social Justice Grantmaking Rises, Shifts Toward Pragmatism

A significant proportion of grantmakers who fund public policy, advocacy, and other social-change activities are increasingly moving away from supporting grassroots advocacy and movement-building. Instead, these funders are choosing more "neutral, technocratic, and results-oriented" approaches to social change, like research, policy analysis, and outreach to decision-makers.

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Justice Department Documents Illustrate Need for More Disclosure on LDA Enforcement

The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) recently released compliance information for the first time in the 10-year history of the Lobbying Disclosure Act (LDA). The information reveals that it has pursued only 13 violations out of approximately 200 referrals in the past two years. Recent legislation introduced by Reps. Marty Meehan (D-MA) and Rahm Emanuel (D-IL) in the House and Sen. Russ Feingold (D-WI) in the Senate calls for lobbyists to file quarterly lobbying statements and would require disclosure and regulation of grass-roots activity.

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Nonprofits and Katrina

The nonprofit sector has really stepped up to the plate in responding to the crises left in the wake of Hurricane Katrina. Now the federal government is responding with laws and regulations that will assist nonprofits providing relief in the Gulf Coast.

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Gag Orders Lifted; Judge Tells FBI It Can No Longer Silence Discussion of PATRIOT Act

In a victory for First Amendment advocates, a federal judge lifted a gag order on a Connecticut library from whom the FBI demanded patrons' records, allowing them to discuss openly their experience and participate in the broader debate about the PATRIOT Act. The judge issued a preliminary injunction against the government, barring it from enforcing gag orders on recipients of certain orders called National Security Letters (NSL), created under the PATRIOT Act.

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OMB Watch Urges Charities to Comment on Proposed FEC Rule

The ability of nonprofits to use broadcast media for advocacy and to encourage citizen participation in public policy debates could be severely limited by proposed rules meant to regulate federal campaign finance. The Federal Election Commission (FEC) is reviewing rules that exempt unpaid broadcasts and 501(c)(3) organizations from a provision meant to limit campaign attack ads funded with soft money. The review is the result of a court case challenging a host of regulations implementing the Bipartisan Campaign Act of 2002 (BCRA).

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Katrina Could Cause a Needed Reevaluation of Priorities in Congress

Hurricane Katrina has shaken up Congress' fall schedule immensely, as its focus has shifted to respond to the immediate needs of the Gulf region utterly devastated by the storm. Congress has passed more than $62 billion in aid, as well as Of the reconciliation measures laid out by Congress in April's budget resolution, some could prove to be extremely harmful. Reconciliation was expected to result in lawmakers:
  • cutting $35 billion from expected mandatory spending over five years ($10 billion was expected to be taken from Medicaid);

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