Blog Posts and Analysis / Open, Accountable Government

Secrecy Endangers Biodefense Effort

The ultra-secretive agency proposed to lead the nation's effort against biological attacks and national threats posed by pandemics may have to be less secretive if Congress is going to give its approval. You read it right: Congress is balking at approving too much secrecy.

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Developments Could Hamper, Help Effort to Preserve TRI

In response to a petition from public interest groups, the EPA has extended the deadline for public comments on its proposed cutbacks to the Toxics Release Inventory (TRI) to Jan 13. In an unrelated change, the agency also moved the electronic docket of public comments from its own website to the federal government's www.regulations.gov. The transition was far from seamless, and the possible effects of the location change in the midst of the rulemaking process are uncertain.

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A New Ultra-Secret Government Agency

Legislation is moving in the Senate to create a new government agency to combat bioterrorism that will operate, unlike any other agency before it, under blanket secrecy protection.

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Infrastructure Protection Plan Fast-tracked Right Past the Public

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) released a Nov. 2 draft of its National Infrastructure Protection Plan (NIPP) and only provided a two-week window for requesting a copy of the plan and a 30-day public comment period. According to its authors, the report offers a "comprehensive, integrated national plan for the protection of critical infrastructures and key resources." Yet, the time constraints on viewing and commenting on it do not allow for substantive public review or response.

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Open Government at Stake in Patriot Act Negotiations

Lawmakers in the House and Senate began negotiations last week on renewing 16 provisions of the USA PATRIOT Act, set to expire this year. Several important differences exist between the House and Senate bills that affect the government's transparency in its exercise of powers to clandestinely search, seize, and collect information. How these differences are resolved will have broad implications for civil liberties and government surveillance powers.

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Groups Build Support for the Toxics Release Inventory

The many public interest groups that oppose EPA's recent proposals to gut the Toxics Release Inventory (TRI) are now working in concert to produce materials and resources that support the environmental right-to-know program. OMB Watch is hosting an Online Resource Center, developed with participating organizations to act as a clearinghouse for concerned groups and individuals to learn about the program and to take action to defend it.

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Industry Derails Labor Safety Rule with Data Quality Challenge

A coalition of mining companies and trade associations appears to have used the Data Quality Act to derail a Mine Safety Health Administration (MSHA) rule that would protect miners from harmful particulate matter in diesel exhaust. The challenge did not raise actual objections to data quality; instead it couched industry's disagreements with the rule in data quality language. The tactic, however, appears to have succeeded in impelling the agency to publish a modification to the rule that weakens the mine worker protections. The Issue

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