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Building a Better Government Performance System

May 13, 2019

OMB Watch partnered with Georgetown University's Public Policy Institute and Accenture's Institute for Public Service to craft consensus recommendations for the next president related to improving government performance measurement systems. The project convened a wide range of policy experts, academics, government representatives, and others to explore areas of agreement in a very disparate field.

Living in the Shadow of Danger: Poverty, Race, and Unequal Chemical Facility Hazards

January 18, 2016

Over 12,500 facilities in the United States use or store such large quantities of extremely dangerous chemicals that they must submit a Risk Management Program (RMP) plan to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for responding to chemical disasters. People living at the fenceline of these chemical facilities face the greatest dangers. Nearly 23 million residents – 7.5 percent of the total U.S. population – live within one mile of an RMP facility. These communities would be hardest hit during a chemical catastrophe and would have the least amount of time to escape the dangers. The Center for Effective Government graded states based on the dangers faced by people of color and residents with incomes below the poverty line living within one mile of dangerous facilities, compared to white and non-poor people in these areas. How did your state score?

Blowing Smoke: Chemical Companies Say "Trust Us"' But Environmental and Workplace Safety Violations Belie Their Rhetoric

January 13, 2016

Large chemical companies and their major trade association and lobbying arm, the American Chemistry Council, say they can maintain high safety standards through self-regulation and voluntary actions. Our report finds this isn't the case. Voluntary standards don't work, and existing regulations are not effectively enforced.Chemical manufacturing uses dangerous substances that can be hazardous to the health and well-being of chemical plant workers and to the residents who live nearby.The American Chemistry Council (ACC) and leaders in the chemical industry have fought stronger government oversight of chemical manufacturing for decades, arguing that the rules currently regulating toxic chemicals are adequate.The ACC runs a program called "Responsible Care®" that purportedly helps member companies meet safety and environmental standards and implement industry best practices. So, is it working? Are these companies representing "the best of the best" in the chemical industry?Our report found that facilities owned by ACC member companies are leaders – in violating our nation's environmental and workplace safety standards.While examining workplace safety and environmental violations, we looked at 12 large companies in the chemical industry that collectively own and operate 644 facilities in the U.S. Seven of these companies (DuPont, Arkema, Mitsubishi, Honeywell, BASF, Dow, and Chemtura) are members of the industry's main trade association, the ACC.While the ACC claims their member companies are meeting safety standards, we found serious violations at these seven ACC member-companies. DuPont topped the list with 125 serious violations at the plants they own. Additionally, 78 serious violations were found at Arkema's inspected plants.

The Tale of Two Retirements: Changing the Rules that Allow Platinum Pensions for CEOs and Increase Retirment Insecurity for the Rest of Us

October 27, 2015

Retirement benefits for CEOs at corporations have exploded while the rest of Americans struggle to save for retirement.Just look at this statistic: the 100 largest CEO retirement funds are worth a combined $4.9 billion. That's equal to the entire retirement account savings of 41 percent of American families!This rising inequality is the result of rules intentionally tipped to reward those already on the highest rungs of the ladder.While the availability of pension plans for most Americans has dwindled in the last 30 years, more than half of Fortune 500 CEOs receive company-sponsored pension plans. Their firms are allowed to deduct the cost of these plans from their taxes, even if they have cut worker pensions or never offered them at all.Seventy-three percent of Fortune 500 firms have also set up special tax-deferred compensation accounts for their executives. These are similar to the 401(k) plans that some Americans receive through their employers. But ordinary workers face strict limits on how much pre-tax income they can invest each year in these plans, while top executives do not. These privileged few are free to shelter unlimited amounts of compensation in their retirement pots, where their money can grow, tax-free, until they retire and start spending it.The CEO-worker retirement divide turns our country's already extreme income divide into an even wider economic chasm.New analysis by the Government Accountability Office shows that 29 percent of workers approaching retirement (aged 50-65) have neither a pension nor retirement savings in a 401(k) or Individual Retirement Account (IRA).According to a study by the Schwartz Center for Economic Policy Research at the New School, 55 percent of those aged 50-64 will be forced to rely almost solely on Social Security (which averages $1,233 a month).Younger Americans face a particularly difficult time saving for retirement. More than half of millennials have not yet begun to save for retirement, as they lack access to good jobs, and have staggering amounts of student loan debt. Americans under 40 today have saved 7 percent less for retirement than people in that age group were able to save in 1983.The lavish retirement packages for executives and growing retirement insecurity for the rest of us are inextricably linked. The rules now in place create powerful incentives to slash worker retirement benefits as a way of boosting corporate profits and stock prices. And since more than half of executive compensation is tied to the company's stock price, every dollar not spent on employee retirement security is money in the CEO's pocket.Despite these grim findings, it's clear that we can rewrite the rules that have been rigged against the middle class for the last 30 years. Together, we can change this and allow for all Americans to be able to retire with dignity.

Gasping for Support: Implementation of Tougher Air Quality Standards Will Require New Funds for State Agencies

May 11, 2015

New scientific research shows that the current levels of air pollution that we believed to be safe can actually cause serious damage to our health. This new information underscores the urgency for tougher clean air standards and more resources for clean air programs.

Chemical Hazards in Your Backyard: Do Your First Responders Have the Information They Need in an Emergency?

April 15, 2015

Now more than two years after the West, Texas fertilizer plant explosion, this report asks the question that haunted the community in the aftermath of the tragedy: why didn't the people who arrived to help fight the fire know that extremely flammable and explosive materials were inside?Ten volunteer firefighters who rushed toward the fire were among the 15 killed in the explosion that followed. In addition to the deaths, the explosion destroyed three schools, a nursing home, and 37 city blocks, and over 200 people were injured. But it seems that neither the firefighters nor the town officials who approved the school sitings fully understood the risks the fertilizer storage facility presented.Congress passed a law almost three decades ago that was designed to ensure that local communities are fully aware of hazardous substances near them and that emergency personnel know what to do in the event of a disaster like West, Texas. A few years later, an additional law required more reporting and planning. But local communities in many areas of the country still seem unaware and unprepared to deal with emergencies. As the number of chemical facilities increases and population centers expand, as plants age and inspection funds decline, the number of individual Americans at risk from toxic emissions, leaks, and explosions will grow.This report examines the chemical reporting to states that occurs under the Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act of 1986 (EPCRA), using a sample of six states, and the reporting to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) that was established under the 1990 Clean Air Act amendments and the federal Risk Management Program.

Burning Our Bridges: Cutting Offshore Tax Rates Won't Fund Our Infrastructure or Create Jobs

April 1, 2015

This report identifies the 26 U.S. corporations with the largest stockpiles of untaxed overseas profits and analyzes how much they could help meet U.S. infrastructure needs if these firms paid the taxes they owe on their offshore profits (but can legally put off paying).

Reducing Our Exposure to Toxic Chemicals: Stronger State Health Protections at Risk

March 20, 2015

In 1976, the United States enacted the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) to address public concerns about the impact of a growing number of untested chemicals on human health.The law tasks the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) with identifying potentially dangerous chemicals, gathering information from the manufacturers of chemicals in commercial use, and issuing rules to reduce or eliminate their risks to human health and the environment.For almost 40 years, this federal law has been the lynchpin of our nation's chemical safety policy, and it has failed to protect the American people from being exposed to thousands of chemicals in commercial use that are known to cause harm to humans.At least 84,000 chemicals are registered for commercial use in the U.S. today. EPA has required testing for only about 250 of them and has banned or placed restrictions on only nine.The law was written in a way that severely limits EPA's ability to regulate chemicals. And even the modest work EPA has done is constantly opposed and challenged in court by large chemical companies and their trade associations.With chemical company lobbyists blocking efforts to establish stronger federal protections, states have stepped up and taken the lead: 38 states have established more than 250 laws or rules regulating the use of toxic substances. And 20 state legislatures are currently considering almost 75 new proposed chemical safety policies.But testing and restricting chemicals is resource-intensive work, and many states do not have the funds, expertise, or will to do it. More federal oversight is needed.

Making the Grade: Access to Information Scorecard 2015

March 9, 2015

A building block of American democracy is the idea that as citizens, we have a right to information about how our government works and what it does in our name.The Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requires federal agencies to promptly respond to public requests for information unless disclosure of the requested information would harm a protected interest. But implementation of the law since its passage in 1966 has been uneven and inconsistent across federal agencies.This is the second year we have conducted a very detailed comparative analysis of the performance of the 15 federal agencies that consistently receive the most FOIA requests. Combined, these 15 agencies received over 90 percent of all information requests for each of the last two years. We examined their performance in three key areas:The establishment of clear agency rules guiding the release of information and communication with those requesting information;The quality and "user-friendliness" of an agency's FOIA website; andThe timely, complete processing of requests for information.The number of requests each agency receives, the complexity of the requests, and the number of staff assigned within an agency to process them varies widely and can impact performance.The results of our analysis: eight out of 15 agencies improved their overall scores this year, and in each of the three performance areas, more agencies received the highest grades (A). But only two agencies improved their FOIA policy guidelines, and processing scores actually declined in eight agencies. Ten of the agencies failed to achieve a satisfactory overall grade.Fulfilling the promise of full, timely public access to meaningful government information is an ongoing, complex process that requires leadership and commitment. The Obama administration, Congress, and agency leaders need to ensure that agencies have the staff and resources they need to process requests in a timely manner.

Fleecing Uncle Sam: A Growing Number of Corporations Spend More on Executive Compensation than Federal Income Taxes

November 17, 2014

The trickle-down theory of corporate tax cuts is alive and well in America. The theory holds that if we cut corporate taxes, corporations will have more money to invest in new jobs. Related to this theory are widely held fears that unless we give in to CEO demands for more tax breaks and direct subsidies, they will close up shop and move their jobs somewhere else.It is a nice theory, but it hasn't worked.Corporations are quick to complain that the U.S. tax rate – 35 percent – is the highest among industrialized nations, but they neglect to mention that the average large corporation paid only slightly more than half that rate – just 19.9 percent – between 2008-2012. Corporate taxes as a share of GDP remain near all-time lows, while corporate profits set another record last year. And yet job creation remains anemic, with more than nine million Americans out of work, almost three million of these for more than six months.Rather than reinvesting their profits in expanding operations and hiring more workers, U.S. corporations are instead engaging in record levels of repurchasing their stock and in buying out competitors through mergers. Corporate stock repurchases have the effect of boosting earnings per share. Higher earnings per share in turn boost stock prices. And since CEO pay is largely dependent on stock price, this pathway leads to soaring levels of CEO pay, even while average worker pay continues to stagnate.Merging with competitors also boosts corporate profits, but rather than leading to more jobs, mergers commonly lead to layoffs as redundant employees are cast off and join the army of unemployed Americans facing an uncertain future.Corporations have also fought for – and won – lucrative loopholes and tax credits that have taxpayers picking up the normal costs of business that corporations used to pay for themselves.

Gaming the Rules: How Big Business Hijacks the Small Business Review Process to Weaken Public Protections (Executive Summary)

November 12, 2014

Small businesses are heroic and iconic figures in the American story of opportunity. The vast majority of private enterprises in the U.S. today employ fewer than 100 workers, and many workers aspire to own their own business. So when small businesses argued that the federal rulemaking process should pay attention to their special needs, policymakers listened.By law, three federal agencies – the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau – are required to convene a small business review panel any time they plan to issue a rule that could have a significant economic impact on small businesses.Who participates in the review panel process? Are these panels representing and protecting the interests of small businesses in federal rulemaking? Does this process allow for the creation of needed public protections while mitigating any impacts on small businesses?To answer these questions, staff at the Center for Effective Government examined 20 Small Business Advocacy Review panels convened between 1998 and 2012.

Gaming the Rules: How Big Business Hijacks the Small Business Review Process to Weaken Public Protections

November 12, 2014

Small businesses are heroic and iconic figures in the American story of opportunity. The vast majority of private enterprises in the U.S. today employ fewer than 100 workers, and many workers aspire to own their own business. So when small businesses argued that the federal rulemaking process should pay attention to their special needs, policymakers listened.By law, three federal agencies – the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau – are required to convene a small business review panel any time they plan to issue a rule that could have a significant economic impact on small businesses.Who participates in the review panel process? Are these panels representing and protecting the interests of small businesses in federal rulemaking? Does this process allow for the creation of needed public protections while mitigating any impacts on small businesses?To answer these questions, staff at the Center for Effective Government examined 20 Small Business Advocacy Review panels convened between 1998 and 2012.