"As the House and Senate begin a political dance this week that includes the threat of shutting down the government over steep budget cuts passed by the House, many federal employees already know the steps."
Here are links to some recent Congressional Research Service reports that may be of interest to energy and environmental journalists, courtesy of the Federation of American Scientists, a nonprofit watchdog group.
As part of the continuing resolution (HR 1) the House approved largely along party lines an amendment sponsored by Rep. Mike Pompeo (R-KS) to cut an additional $8.5 million from the budget for EPA's Greenhouse Gas Registry.
The good news, perhaps, is that Interior felt a need to take some policy action in response to the White House's Dec. 17, 2010, memo on science integrity. The bad news? The Interior policy seems to rehash a 2010 decree that scientists criticized, to punish the innocent, and to reward the uninvolved.
A Congressional watchdog agency has put the Interior Department's program for regulating -- and collecting revenue from -- offshore oil drilling on its "at risk" list. Will Congressional oversight committees keep overseeing an agency that has failed to collect billions from an industry that gives generously to their campaigns?
"President Obama’s budget, released Monday, essentially treads water on energy and the environment, trying to maintain momentum for alternative energy research even as it cuts deeply into some environmental protection programs."
You can easily find the Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and Flickr accounts of committees, federal agencies, and others on the Government & Social Media Wiki. As in the real world, however, the existence of these channels may not necessarily mean they carry any substantial information.
The House Oversight Committee Chair's method of investigating whether DHS was politically screening its responses to FOIA requests has at least one member of his committee worried about the privacy of the FOIA requesters due to Issa's demand for specifics of information.
Project on Government Oversight says federal plans for contractor database omit exactly the information investigative types want most, including past wrongdoing by contractors. POGO's own database still the best tool available.
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