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Americans Taking Abramoff, Alito and Domestic Spying in Stride – Democrats Hold Huge Issue Advantage, Released: January 11, 2006 (32 pages, PDF) Summary of findings: “The public has been hardly stirred by the flurry of major Washington news in the early days of 2006. Jack Abramoff’s admission that he bribed members of Congress has sparked …
On January 3, 2006 Jeffrey H. Smith, a former General Counsel of the CIA and a former General Counsel of the Senate Armed Services Committee, sent a 16 page memorandum to the Members of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, addressing the legal authorities regarding warrantless surveillance of U.S. persons. His conclusion – “The …
January 09, 2006 – Federal Spending by Agency and Budget Function, FY2001-FY2005 (PDF) “This report provides federal spending data by agency and by budget function for fiscal year 2001 through fiscal year 2005. The data, ranked by size, reveal the concentrated nature of federal spending. The largest four agencies (of 51 listed) produce 83% of …
The Environmental Opinions of Judge Samuel Alito (6 pages, PDF, January 06, 2006 Summary: “The nomination of Judge Samuel A. Alito, Jr., to serve on the Supreme Court has prompted close scrutiny of his judicial opinions during 15 years as an appellate judge. A review of the 34 opinions in environmental cases in which Judge …
Press release, January 11, 2006: “U.S. Rep. Mike Rogers, MI-08, today announced his principles for restoring accountability and trust in government, the cornerstone of his lobbying reform legislation which will be introduced when Congress reconvenes at the end of this month.” Press release, January 11, 2006: “House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi sent the following letter …
“Rep. Waxman asks the Labor Secretary Chao to reverse the Mine Safety and Health Administration’s 2004 decision to exclude mine safety inspectors’ notes in Freedom of Information Act responses. The agency’s secrecy policy limited disclosure about hundreds of safety violations at the Sago mine for years before the recent disaster.” [January 11, 2006] Letter to …
Status of a Member of the House Who Has Been Indicted for or Convicted of a Felony (14 pages, PDF), January 5, 2006. “There are no federal statutes or Rules of the House of Representatives that directly affect the status of a Member of Congress who has been indicted for a crime that constitutes a …
Agency Reports on Violations of the Antideficiency Act: GAO has created this database in carrying out the statutory requirement in section 1401 of the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2005, Pub. L. No. 108-447 [658 pages, PDF), 118 Stat. 2809, 3192 (Dec. 8, 2004). “The database currently lists reports received by GAO in FY 2005. Interested persons …
OMB Watch: “Citizens for Sensible Safeguards, a coalition of labor, consumer, and other public interest organizations, filed comments (29 pages, PDF) Jan. 9 on OMB’s Proposed Bulletin on Good Guidance Practices. The bulletin purports to make agency guidance documents “more transparent, consistent, and accountable” by setting new requirements that include high-level review by senior agency …
Press release: “The Department of Commerces United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) announced today the 2005 top 10 global private sector patent recipients. Listed…are the 10 corporations receiving the most U.S. patents for inventions in 2005, along with their 2004 ranking.” IBM, Canon and HP rank 12, 3 respectively.
Following up on my November 11, 2005 posting, EPA Proposes To Limit Public Access to Pollution Release Inventory, see this new report from OMB Watch, Dismantling the Public’s Right to Know: EPA’s Systematic Weakening of the Toxics Release Inventory (16 pages, PDF): “The report details how under the Bush administration, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) …
After a series of Congressional calls for hearings and investigations into the administration’s controversial post 9/11 domestic surveillance program, news today from several sources confirming that probes have indeed been launched, and hearings scheduled. Questions remain as to when, and if, the conclusions will be made public. Additionally, ABC News reports that former NSA “insider” …
