Project Makes Transparency Recommendations for Next President

More than 100 groups and individuals from across the country have been working collaboratively to develop recommendations for the next president on how best to improve federal government transparency. The effort, the 21st Century Right to Know project, was organized by OMB Watch, and it involves organizations and individuals from across the political spectrum. A draft set of recommendations is now available for review and endorsement.

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Telecom Surveillance to Receive Get-Out-of-Jail-Free Card

The Department of Justice (DOJ) is seeking retroactive immunity for the telecommunications companies that cooperated with the National Security Agency's (NSA) warrantless surveillance program, utilizing power granted in the FISA Amendments Act of 2008.

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Department of Justice Finalizes Enhancements of FBI Powers

Attorney General Michael Mukasey recently finalized changes to Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) rules that increase the agency's ability to gather information on citizens without having prior suspicion of wrongdoing. The new rules cover the FBI's powers over criminal, national security, and foreign intelligence surveillance and have been criticized by civil liberties advocates and privacy groups.

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EPA Doesn't Want to Know about Factory Farm Waste

In a Sept. 24 congressional hearing, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) defended its proposal to exempt factory farms from reporting on airborne and chemical emissions from animal waste, even though the agency has no reliable information on public health impacts of the pollution. Without the reports, communities would not know when potentially dangerous animal waste releases occur. Emergency responders would also have less information when responding to citizens' reports of noxious odors.

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EPA Reopens Libraries

After two years, numerous protests by the public, a formal grievance from a government employee union, a critical governmental report, and congressional intervention, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has reopened agency libraries it closed as a purported cost-saving measure. The libraries generally are smaller and open fewer hours than before, are now controlled by a political appointee, and may have lost materials in the interim, but they are open to the public.

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EPA's Assessments of Chemical Dangers -- Too Slow

A government investigation of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) process for assessing dangerous chemicals concludes the agency is so slow and lacking in credibility that the system is in "serious risk of becoming obsolete."

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Senate and House Take Legislative Swings at Secrecy

The Senate introduced new legislation that would make it more difficult for the executive branch to establish secret policies. This effort followed the House's passage of legislation to reduce overuse of classification by security agencies.

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