Government Matters Articles

Data Quality Lawsuit Settled Out of Court

A controversial lawsuit challenging global warming was recently settled out of court, thereby leaving the issue of whether federal agencies’ data quality guidelines are judicially reviewable unanswered.

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White House Grants Limited Access to 9/11 Information

Last week, the White House agreed to grant the 9/11-investigation commission limited access to portions of classified presidential briefings. The commission will have some degree of access to briefings from both the Bush and Clinton administrations. The decision comes after the chairman of the panel threatened the White House with a subpoena if the documents were not released. While the willingness of the White House to grant some access is a positive gesture, many feel that the agreement is not enough.

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FOI Advocates Get Mixed Results from Defense Authorization Bill

Open government advocates scored what optimists might call a minor victory when Congress granted the National Security Agency (NSA) a narrowly-tailored exemption from the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), according to Secrecy News.

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Economy and Jobs Watch: Taking the Long View

Current economic policy is becoming unsustainable. Current and projected federal deficits are reaching the point where many economic commentators worry about the long-run viability of current policy.

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High Court Asked to Lift Secrecy in Habeas Corpus Proceedings

The Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press has asked the Supreme Court to hear a case in which the plaintiff is identified only by his initials and 63 of 65 motions are kept secret. The existence of the case (M.K.B v. Warden) was discovered when a court clerk mistakenly inserted files related to the case in a public docket and a reporter discovered the misfiled papers, according to news reports.

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Report from the Treasury Department "Death Tax" Roundtable

On Nov. 6 the Treasury Department hosted a “Roundtable on Jobs, Growth, and the Abolition of the Death Tax." There was surprisingly little substance discussed at this one-sided event – most participants opted to rehash old rhetoric opposing the estate tax. There was no new serious research discussed and no new data presented.

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Economy and Jobs Watch: Employment Positive, But Still Weak

October’s unemployment rate remains essentially unchanged from September’s 6.0 percent rate, the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) announced last week. The labor market has improved slightly in recent months, posting employment gains of 126,000 jobs in October, and 125,000 in September.

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Greenpeace under Ashcroft Attack

The unusual federal prosecution of Greenpeace poses a threat to first amendment rights.

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Toxic Waste Cleanups Decline

The number of toxic waste sites cleaned up under the Superfund program declined for the third straight year, according to a recent EPA report. In fiscal year 2003, EPA completed work at just 40 toxic waste sites, compared with 42 in FY 2002 and 47 in FY 2001. In the last four years of the Clinton administration, EPA completed an average of 87 cleanups per year. “We just have fewer dollars to start new projects,” Marianne Horinko, an EPA associate administrator who oversees toxic cleanup, told the New York Times.

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Administration Halts Investigations of Clean Air Violations

The Bush administration has decided to stop investigating 70 power plants suspected of violating clean air standards, and will consider dropping 13 other cases that were referred to the Justice Department, according to the Washington Post.

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