Muzzled under Bush, NASA Scientists Still Face Hurdles Publicizing Findings
As President Barack Obama meets in Copenhagen with world leaders to address climate change, a recent government report notes that, even after NASA took steps to address the political considerations that led to the suppression or downplaying of studies of climate science from 2004 to 2006, researchers at the space agency are still unclear about whether they can share the results of their taxpayer-funded studies with the public.
A survey conducted earlier this year found that fewer researchers have tried to disseminate their research results than in 2007, and more researchers have had their requests to disseminate denied, according to ... Continue readingOpen Government Initiative to surface a useful data set
While we were kicking around data sets wed like to see from the new
Open Government Initiative, our colleague Daniel Schuman found an
actual list, buried in appendix two of the Open Government Progress
Report to the American People that the Obama administration released
today.
I couldnt help but notice this data set:
11. Department of Housing and Urban Development: Tracking Quality of
Federally-Assisted Rental HousingThe Real Estate Assessment Center
conducts physical property inspections of public housing. HUD is
releasing a full historical view of point-in-time property scores.
Making these details available will enable researchers, advocacy
groups, and the general public to 1) better understand the physical
condition of the HUD-assisted housing stock, 2) hold providers
accountable for housing quality, and 3) plan for future affordable
housing needs.
Recovery.gov data available on FedSpending.org
Sunlight puts House office disbursements in database form
Ways and Means releases tariff bill database
Last week, the House Ways and Means Subcommittee on Trade released a <a Last week, the House Ways and Means Subcommittee on Trade released a new resource page on miscellaneous tariff bills, which are measures introduced by members of Congress that cut taxes on specific imported goods saving money for a limited number of beneficiaries (usually just one). The subcommittee made a very handy database of these bills (they call it the MTB Matrix), showing who proposed each bill, who will benefit from it, how much money it will cost taxpayers, and whether or not lobbyists pushed the tariff break ...
Continue readingWhite House updates visitor logs
Stimulus grantees cited for poor oversight of federal funds
The Carson City Airport Authority, which has benefited in the last four years from more than $13 million in federal funds, is now slated to receive another $9.6 million in stimulus money, even though an independent auditor cited problems earlier this year with how it manages its federal grants.
The airport authority, which saw a board member resign in 2008 while calling for an independent investigation into the authority's directors, is one of dozens of organizations that received funds from the $787 billion American Recovery and Reinvestment Act despite having flaws in their management systems. Overall, federal agencies ...
Continue readingOpen Notebook: Flaws in Lobbying Disclosure 3
In the half hour since we posted on Service Employee International Union's 2008 political activity and lobbying expenditure numbers, the U.S. Postal Service delivered the copy of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce's form 990 that we requested yesterday.
Continue readingOpen Notebook: Flaws in Lobbying Disclosure 2
In 2008, according to a federal disclosure form that's available online from the Labor Department, the national headquarters of the Service Employees International Union spent $67 million on political activities and lobbying. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce files an annual report with the Internal Revenue Service that requires it to disclose spending on lobbying activities; the IRS does not post those disclosures online. We requested a copy from the Chamber, which they are sending to us in the mail.
Continue reading
59063
