Two recent reports released by the Government Accountability Office (GAO), which examine the effectiveness of tax credits that target poverty and unemployment in economically distressed areas, show that Congress must require better data collection to properly assess tax expenditure programs.

On March 16, a House subcommittee held a hearing on proposed legislation to modernize the Occupational Safety and Health Act (OSH Act). The House bill, the Protecting America's Workers Act (PAWA), would update civil and criminal penalties and provide enhanced protection to workers who report unsafe working conditions.

The Recovery Act may be a great step forward for spending transparency, but it is also exposing the problems of obtaining quality recipient reporting. Two new government reports show that recent revisions and additions to Office of Management and Budget (OMB) rules on recipient reporting are not necessarily "magic bullets" for addressing reporting errors. The reports also make clear that ensuring that recipients have a clear understanding of existing guidance is a crucial aspect of any data quality improvement effort.

On March 3, the Project on Scientific Knowledge and Public Policy (SKAPP) released the results of a two-year research effort to explore the working environment of federal scientists in the public health and environmental fields. The results showed that not only is there political interference in their work, but that scientists also faced a series of obstacles that delay the study and dissemination of scientific information that affects the public every day.