Budget Cuts at the IRS Leave Phones Ringing and Hurt the Middle Class

As Tax Day approaches, the news is filled with stories of unanswered phone calls at the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). The stories will spark an eye-roll or a sarcastic mumble about our “unresponsive government.” But most will fail to mention that the IRS is an agency dealing with a 17 percent cut to its budget since 2010. These cuts have meant there are 26 percent fewer IRS workers answering questions than there were five years ago, even though the number of people filing returns has grown by seven million.

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FDA’s Insufficient Response to Antibiotics in Food Animals

The Obama administration released the National Action Plan for Combating Antibiotic-Resistant Bacteria on March 27. The plan comes in response to the president's 2014 Executive Order 13676, “Combating Antibiotic-Resistant Bacteria.”

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Six Charts Explain How Workers’ Compensation Is Deteriorating

Workers’ compensation is a state-based government program that has protected American workers for close to a century. Throughout the early part of U.S. history, injured workers were taken care of by the communities they were a part of: churches, worker’s benevolence associations, neighbors, or extended family. But when workplace deaths and injuries soared during the industrial revolution, government stepped in to help.

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The Administration's New Fracking Rule Has a Few Catches

The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) just released a long-awaited rule that regulates fracking on federal and tribal lands, the first revision to federal fracking standards in almost 30 years. BLM currently manages over 100,000 oil and gas wells – over 90 percent of which are fracked. The rule establishes minimum safeguards that must be followed when drilling occurs on federal or tribal lands.

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Reject Government Contractors Who Draw the Blinds on Sunshine

Once a year, Sunshine Week rolls around and presents us with an opportunity to assess how open and transparent our government is. But with more and more public services being contracted out to private companies, sunlight’s “disinfectant” effects are being lost, according to a new report by In the Public Interest – Closing the Books: How Government Contractors Hide Public Records. The report shows how government contractors are hiding the data needed to evaluate whether contracting out to private companies is a better deal for taxpayers than leaving services in the hands of public employees.

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Progressives Present Alternative Budget: A Raise for America

Investing in our nation’s future requires funding. This week, the Congressional Progressive Caucus (CPC) revealed its vision of a public investment agenda that will get Americans working and give more people the opportunity to succeed. It pays for these investments through a series of progressive tax proposals, in which wealthy Americans and prosperous corporations would pay a fair share toward building the nation’s economic strength. 

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It's Baa-aack: What to Expect from the Budget Season this Year

The budget season starts in the U.S. Congress this week. The Republican majority in the House will go first – releasing its budget late this afternoon. The Senate Republican majority will unveil its budget on Wednesday. Each chamber’s budget committee will review and approve their respective budgets in a mark-up session the day after each is released.

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