Government Matters Articles

Bush Budget to Increase Deficits $1.6 Trillion over 10 Years

The Congressional Budget Office released its estimates March 5 for the cost of President Bush’s fiscal year 2006 budget, showing deficits increasing by $1.6 trillion over the next 10 years. The CBO report will greatly impact the way the House and Senate budget committees write their FY 06 budget resolutions set for markup this week.

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CFC Cites Treasury Guidelines to Justify Anti-Terror List Requirement

The Combined Federal Campaign (CFC) has filed a motion to dismiss a lawsuit challenging its requirement that participating charities check employee names against two government terrorist watch lists. The CFC motion claims the Treasury Department's Voluntary Anti-Terrorist Financing Guidelines as authority and cites activities by private foundations as justification for its actions. These guidelines have been widely criticized and are currently under review by Treasury.

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Inspector General Reports on IRS Review of Charities' Partisan Activity

The Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration (TIGTA) has published its evaluation of the Internal Revenue Service’s (IRS) process for reviewing referrals alleging illegal political campaign intervention by charities. It describes the process used in detail, and said it found no indications that the random sample of cases it reviewed were handled inappropriately. The IRS requested the review after its audit of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), announced shortly before the election, raised questions about political motivation.

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Grant Made to Politically Connected Group with Negative Rating

A politically well connected organization that promotes abstinence education received a major federal grant last fall under the president’s AIDS program despite its proposal having been rated “not suitable for funding” by an independent review panel. A Feb. 15 letter from Rep. Henry Waxman (D-CA) to Randall L. Tobias, head of the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), made public Waxman’s repeated requests for basic information on the administration of PEPFAR and demanded information on the unusual grant.

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Federal Agency Censors Conference Workshop Title, Then Recants

A federal agency’s attempt to remove the words “gay,” “lesbian,” “bisexual” and “transgender” from the title of a talk given at a federally funded suicide prevention conference is drawing ire from scores of mental health experts and the GLBT community. The conference, which will be held on Feb. 28 in Portland, OR, is funded by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA). On the agenda was a talk that, until SAMHSA officials stepped in, was titled, “Suicide Prevention among Gay/Lesbian/Bisexual/Transgender Individuals.”

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Study Looks at Independent 527s in 2004 Election

The Campaign Finance Institute has published a draft chapter of its upcoming book, Election After Reform: Money, Politics and the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act, that examines the role of independent 527 groups in the 2004 election. It finds these groups did not replace party soft money, since overall levels of soft money went down in 2004. It also said independent groups overall were “scrupulous” in following the law banning coordination with candidates and parties.

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Faith-Based Roundup

On Feb. 16, the House Committee on Education and the Workforce approved a job-training bill that would allow, if it passes, federally funded religious organizations to discriminate against employees based on their religious beliefs. The committee also rejected an amendment that would have remedied the constitutional concerns.

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Emperor Bush?

How the White House and Congress Are Establishing an Imperial Presidency Analyses of pending and expected antiregulatory proposals have revealed the usual themes from years past � net benefits, regulatory budgeting, sunsets, and so on. An unexpected theme has also been emerging, which is worth noting for anyone committed to a progressive vision of an open, accountable government responsive to public needs: a trend in favor of concentrating power in the White House free of democratic accountability. In short, the creation of an imperial presidency. Imperial Presidency Proposals

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Budget Slashes Enforcement at FDA, EPA

The White House�s fiscal year 2006 budget submission will mean big cuts in food and drug safety inspection as well as state enforcement of environmental protections. FDA Amidst mounting concern over the safety of our food supply from threats such as mad cow disease and bioterrorism and after a storm of criticism about FDA�s botched inspection of British flu vaccine facilities, which led to a vaccine shortage this winter, FDA�s budget proposes cuts to nearly all of its inspection programs.

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FDA Announces Drug Safety Oversight Board

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) plans to initiate an independent oversight board to handle drug safety issues, but some lawmakers and consumer groups say the new panel lacks teeth. Michael Leavitt, secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), announced Feb. 15 that FDA will create an independent drug safety oversight board. The board will be responsible for overseeing drug safety policies and resolving internal disputes over drug risks as well as approving information and content for a new government website on drug safety information.

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