The National Head Start Association (NHSA), an organization representing parents, teachers and Head Start programs, filed suit against the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and Secretary Tommy Thompson on June 11th, seeking a court order that would prevent HHS from penalizing Head Start advocates that speak out against the administration’s proposed overhaul of the program.

Rep. Doug Ose (R-CA) recently introduced legislation (H.R. 2432) that would test regulatory budgeting at five agencies, including EPA and the departments of Labor and Transportation. Under these “pilot projects,” the participating agencies -- including two to be designated by OMB -- must present the “varying levels of costs and benefits to the public that would result from different budgeted amounts” for at least one of their “major regulatory programs.” OMB is to include these regulatory budgets in the president’s budget submission to Congress for fiscal year 2007.

The Constitution Project’s Liberty and Security Initiative, launched soon after the terrorist attacks of September 11, recently released a report detailing the effects that policies adopted in response to the terrorist threat have on the First Amendment. The report, and its various signatories, clearly recognize and support the federal government’s objective to protect Americans from terrorist threats, attacks, and activities. However, the Initiative members also acknowledge the vital importance of the fundamental rights and values protected by the First Amendment.

Last week, The Annenberg Public Policy Center of the University of Pennsylvania held a conference entitled, “Sharing and Protecting Homeland Security Information -- Avoiding Conflict Between the Media and the Government.”