Government Matters Articles

OMB Initiates Sweeping Review of Regulation

OMB’s Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA) is instructing federal agencies to evaluate hundreds of regulatory recommendations submitted by outside parties as part of its new annual report on the costs and benefits of regulation.

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GAO Study on Electronic Government

On November 22, the Government Accounting Office (GAO) published a report entitled “Electronic Government: Selection and Implementation of the Office of Management and Budget's 24 Initiatives.” Expanding electronic government (e-government), using technology, particularly the Internet, to enhance the public’s access to government information and services, is a key element of the President’s Management Agenda to reform the federal government.

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Secrecy Sought by Government in Campaign Finance Reform Case

A special three-judge district court, which heard arguments earlier this month, is expected to rule sometime in January on the constitutionality of the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act of 2002 (BCRA). The court ordered that all documents in this controversial case be made public, unless there were specific objections. Since then, the court has heard from more than two-dozen organizations and individuals asking that their information be kept secret.

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Data Quality Challenge on Barium

On October 29, 2002 the Chemical Products Corporation (CPC) submitted a data quality petition to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), challenging a barium risk assessment. CPC believes that the oral reference dose for barium disseminated in the agency’s Integrated Risk Information System (IRIS) does not comply with the data quality requirements of objectivity or reproducibility. Request for Correction

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New Fuel Efficiency Standard for SUVs Falls Short

The National Highway and Transportation Administration (NHTSA) recently proposed a new -- but unfortunately, weak -- fuel efficiency standard for light trucks and sports utility vehicles that will achieve minimal pollution reductions.

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Court Reinstates 'Roadless Rule'

On December 12, a federal appeals court in California reinstated a Clinton-era rule that protects nearly 60 million acres of national forests from logging and road construction. The decision lifts an injunction issued by a federal judge in Idaho, who in May of 2001, found the rule would cause “irreparable harm” to the timber industry. The Bush administration declined to appeal this ruling, and in fact, seemed to embrace it. However, a coalition of environmental groups, led by Earthjustice, intervened and won a strong rebuke to the injunction.

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Administration Issues Weak Rule on Livestock Waste

Answering a court-imposed deadline, the Bush administration issued a weak final rule to limit runoff from livestock waste at large factory farms, which produce 220 billion gallons of liquefied manure each year. The rule waters down a previous Clinton-era proposal, according to the Natural Resources Defense Council and the Washington Post, by reducing the number of affected operations by more than half; allowing factory farms to write their own permit conditions; and limiting the liability of major corporations for illegal spills by their subcontractors.

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Bush Signs E-Government Bill

President Bush signed legislation on December 17 that pushes the federal government to provide greater Internet access to information and services, authorizing $345 million over the next four years for an e-government fund. The bill, spearheaded by Sen. Joseph Lieberman (D-CT), marks the first comprehensive effort aimed directly at dealing with electronic information, covering a wide range of issues from information security and disaster preparedness to the digital divide and government employee training to information management and dissemination. Click here for a complete summary.

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Read the Watcher in Full in Easy-to-Print PDF Format

For your convenience, the OMB Watcher is now also available in full as a PDF document -- this will allow for viewing and printing of the entire issue in one document.

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GAO Reports on Job Prospects of Former TANF Recipients with Impairments

A recent study conducted by the General Accounting Office (GAO) examined the job prospects of people leaving the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program. Specifically, the study, shows that recipients of TANF “who had impairments were found to be half as likely to exit TANF as recipients without impairments…” Similar rates were seen among TANF recipients caring for children with impairments as those caring for children without impairments, even when factors such as marital status and age were taken into account. According to the GAO report, former TANF recipients with impairments are “one-third as likely as people without impairments to be employed,” with 40 percent of such former TANF recipients reporting Supplemental Security Income (SSI) assistance.

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