Archive for the 'Congressional Reference' Category
From the Department of State’s Bureau of International Information Programs, this website includes educational articles, videos, slide shows and brochures on U.S. government, politics and culture. The information is intended for international audiences and is available in English, Spanish, Russian, French, Chinese, Arabic and Persian. The “U.S. Politics” and “U.S. Government” sections can be especially useful for student presentations.
Most of the debate over tax policy focuses on the 2001 and 2003 tax cuts, which expire at the end of 2010, but there are also many other tax breaks up for renewal before then, including the alternative minimum tax. To draw attention to the bulk of expiring tax breaks, the conservative House Republican Study Committee (RSC) has issued a two-page summary highlighting certain tax provisions that, if not extended, the RSC says will result in tax increases. The Joint Committee on Taxation also provides an annual list which highlights all federal tax provisions that expire through 2020.
The Americans for Tax Reform site tracks state spending. Many states are taking action to increase transparency in government spending in 2008 because of the recently passed Federal Funding Accountability and Transparency Act (S.2590) which passed House and Senate in September of 2006.
Wikis come to the federal government. Excerpts from an article by Stephen Barr from the Washington Post
When President Bush challenged Congress to cut the number and cost of earmarks by half, the administration’s budget chiefs turned to their wiki.
That’s right, the Office of Management and Budget, where caution and precision rule, has embraced Wikipedia as a model, hosting an online place where federal officials can swap information and ideas outside traditional boundaries.
…With the wiki, federal agencies compiled a database of 13,496 earmarks in 10 weeks. In the old days, it would have taken six months to get the information to the OMB.
The budget wiki is not as freewheeling as Wikipedia, the sometimes-controversial online encyclopedia. It is the government, after all. For security, federal officials have to ask permission to join; it is not open to the public or Congress.
Still, the earmarks project underscores how technology is helping change the way the government works. The OMB and other agencies used the Web’s interconnectivity to more efficiently gather information and draw conclusions.
The wiki also created, in essence, a powerful insiders club, where members are encouraged to engage in collaboration before they arrive at business decisions.
The wiki was launched in December 2006 with the prosaic title “Budget Community.” By September 2007, the wiki had proved so popular that it was renamed “The MAX Federal Community” to incorporate other government-wide issues and agencies. The MAX in the name refers to the OMB’s technology system that agencies use to produce the president’s budget.
Taxpayers for Common Sense has created a database and analysis/commentary for FY2008 earmarks in appropriations andauthorizations. The spreadsheet columns for each House and Senate appropriations includes the earmark dollar amount, budget request
(Administration requested earmarks), description of the earmarks, city/location-county-state, bill section (department), bill subsection(agency), requesting Member, party affiliation, state, and a note column. Most of the columns can be customized, show the top ten in each category, amounts in ascending or descending order, or in alphabetical order.The “Notes” column shows when the Committee did not fund an
administration requested earmark and will sometimes provide a link to the OMB website that provides further information about the specific earmark. The column also notes when an earmark is divided between more than one state.
The calculations page shows the total dollar amounts by state and will often give the total dollar amount of earmarks, the total number of earmarks, the number and value of disclosed earmarks and the number and value of undisclosed earmarks.
The Analysis link provides commentary on the bill and at the end will sometimes provide a list of earmark dollar amounts and numbers for each subcommittee member as well as for the leadership.
OMB Database Page - FY2005 complete and FY2008 estimated:
OMB’s earmark databases for appropriations and authorizations covers FY2005 and FY2008 (estimates). Each database provide dollar amounts and the number of earmarks by bill, department or agency, and by appropriation account, but does not provide information on Members or earmarks requested by the Administration.
The FY2005 earmark list can be searched by agency or state and has a link to download the data. A link also provides a summary of earmarks and dollar amounts for each FY2005 appropriations bill. It also shows whether the earmark is continuing or first-time and whether the earmarkhad been reduced by an across-the-board rescission, whether a lesser amount was awarded, or has not been awarded yet.
Politifact –produced in part by CQ
Example of the type of content,
“Sixty-one percent of our active military are currently listed as overweight.”–Mike Huckabee http://politifact.com/truth-o-meter/statements/77/
Useful because it provides good sources.
Also try, Anneberg Public Policy Center’s Political Fact Check which has a broader focus.