Blog Posts and Analysis / Open, Accountable Government

Restored EPA Budget Holds Hope for Libraries and Labs

On June 7, the House Appropriations Committee approved a $27.6 billion Interior-Environment spending bill that increases the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) FY 2008 budget to $8.1 billion, a $361 million increase over current spending. It is also $887 million more than President Bush's budget request, which will likely trigger a veto threat.

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Kyl Unveiled as FOIA Foiler

Shortly after supporters of the Openness Promotes Effectiveness in Our National (OPEN) Government Act began aggressive online and telephone campaigns to discover the senator who had placed an anonymous hold on the bill, Sen. Jon Kyl (R-AZ) acknowledged that he was blocking the legislation. Kyl explained that the move was at the behest of the Department of Justice (DOJ), which he explained had "uncharacteristically strong objections to the bill."

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The Department of Homeland Security's Dangerous Pattern

On June 5, Rep. Bennie Thompson (D-MS), chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee, wrote an op-ed in The Hill criticizing the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) for the hasty development of ineffective programs. Thompson cites DHS's failed efforts to implement an integrated information-sharing network, but, as he notes, this is merely one of many examples of misplaced priorities and ineffective leadership at DHS. The Department's attempt to build a robust chemical security program could serve as another example.

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EPA's Diagnosis of the Environment is Unclear

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) released its draft 2007 Report on the Environment: Science Report on May 10. The draft version of the report, open for public comment until June 25, attempts to provide a "snapshot" of the current state of the environment and its impact on Americans' health.

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Coming to a Dump Near You -- Nuclear Waste

The Nuclear Information and Resource Service (NIRS), a nonprofit organization, released a report on May 14 that exposes Department of Energy (DOE) practices of dumping nuclear-related waste in facilities that are unregulated and not designed for radioactive material. NIRS found that DOE's policies and procedures are geared toward the "release of radioactive waste, materials and property from regulatory control."

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Setback on Chemical Security

The effort to establish stronger chemical security measures suffered a significant setback the week of May 21 with the loss of a provision from the Iraq supplemental spending bill that would have prohibited the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) from preempting state law on matters of chemical security. In order to galvanize support for comprehensive chemical security reform, a group of public interest and environmental organizations wrote to Rep. Bennie Thompson (D-MS), Chairman of the Homeland Security Committee, and Rep. Sheila Jackson-Lee (D-TX), Chairwoman of the Homeland Security Subcommittee on Transportation Security and Infrastructure Protection. The letter encouraged the members to continue their work on ensuring strong chemical security protections.

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Whistleblower Week in Washington Succeeds

The first national Washington Whistleblower Week (May 14-21) highlighted the importance of whistleblowers in our country and urged the Senate to pass new protections for whistleblowers. The week of events included participation by hundreds of whistleblowers and dozens of public interest organizations.

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