OMB Watch

Our Issue Areas: Federal Budget Information & Access Nonprofit Advocacy Regulatory Policy

What is the Obama Agenda for Bush-Era Regulations?
Just hours after President Barack Obama took the oath of office on Jan. 20, new White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel issued a memo setting out the Obama administration's policy for dealing with some regulations left by the administration of President George W. Bush. The Emanuel memo puts a freeze on all regulations still in the pipeline and gives agencies leeway to deal with those Bush-era regulations already finalized but not yet being implemented. However, the memo does not address most of the controversial regulations finalized by the Bush administration in its last days; these rules are already in effect and impacting the nation.
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Obama Chief of Staff's Memo Freezes Bush Midnight Regulations

Get the Latest Status Updates on Bush's Midnight Regulations

Read the OMB Watch and Center for American Progress Report on Midnight Regulations

White House Promises a New Era of Sunlight
In his first full day in office, President Barack Obama acknowledged the importance of transparency by signing an executive order on the Presidential Records Act (PRA) and issuing memoranda on the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) and open government standards in general. He further pledged that he would "hold [himself], as president, to a new standard of openness."
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Read OMB Watch's Statement on the Open Government and FOIA Memos

Read the Government Transparency Memo

Read the FOIA Memo

Lobbying and Ethics Reform Takes Center Stage at the White House
On Jan. 21, President Barack Obama signed an executive order on Ethics Commitments by Executive Branch Personnel. The order details new restrictions for political appointees that work in the Obama administration. It limits the role lobbyists can play in the executive branch and attempts to reduce the influence of powerful special interests by addressing the revolving door — when government officials move to and from private sector jobs.
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More on Lobbying and Government Ethics Reform

House Makes Transparency a Priority for Stimulus
The House is poised to vote on an $825 billion economic stimulus package. The legislation represents a historic effort to stabilize the economy through fiscal policy by approving $275 billion in tax cuts and $550 billion in direct spending, including funding for health care, education and job training, community development and housing, and energy and transportation infrastructure projects.
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More on Federal Budget Policy

The Bush Legacy: An Assault on Public Protections
On Jan. 14, OMB Watch released a report that explores the results of the anti-regulatory actions of the Bush administration since Jan. 20, 2001. The report, The Bush Legacy: An Assault on Public Protections, was crafted in a narrative style by freelance writer and author Osha Gray Davidson and shows that attacks on a variety of common-sense regulations have taken a great toll on the United States.
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Read The Bush Legacy [large PDF]

Access a smaller PDF of The Bush Legacy [lower resolution]

Groups Make Recommendations to New President, Congress
Several diverse groups have released a variety of recommendations for President Obama and the 111th Congress. These recommendations, which focus on issues of government transparency, regulatory reform and public protections, government performance, and charities and counterterrorism, were developed through various collaborative means. They are intended to provide Obama and Congress a roadmap toward restoring a workable, open, and effective federal government based on the concept of "We the People."
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Visit Our Presidential and Congressional Recommendations Headquarters

Read the Government Transparency Recommendations

Read the Regulatory Reform Recommendations

Seen but not Heard Available on Amazon.com
We've made an important nonprofit policy advocacy resource easier to find online! OMB Watch has worked with The Aspen Institute to make Seen but not Heard: Strengthening Nonprofit Advocacy available on Amazon.com. Published in late 2007, the book serves as a comprehensive analysis of the results of the Strengthening Nonprofit Advocacy Project, a joint research effort of OMB Watch, Tufts University, and the Center for Lobbying in the Public Interest. The book should be of interest to anyone concerned with nonprofits, as well as anyone who makes policy and tries to influence it. It is written from the perspective of one who believes it is right, proper, and beneficial for nonprofits to engage in the formation of public policy.
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Purchase Seen but not Heard

More on the Importance of Nonprofit Advocacy

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