OMB Watch Annual Report 2010

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OMB Watch 1742 Connecticut Avenue, NW Washington, DC 20009

Building

a

Better

Government 2010 Annual Report


1742 Connecticut Avenue, NW Washington, DC 20009 web www.ombwatch.org phone 202-234-8494 fax email

202-234-8584 ombwatch@ombwatch.org @ombwatch facebook.com/ombwatch


OMB Watch

2010 Annual Report Pursuing a more open and accountable government that promotes fairness and equity


From the Chairman of the Board

It was

with great pleasure and pride that I served as Chair of the Board of Directors of OMB Watch in 2010. 2010 marked my fourth year serving in the position, and I continue to be impressed by the organization’s capacity for coalition building, policy analysis, advocacy, and, above all, its commitment to equity, improving our government, and enhancing our democracy. OMB Watch’s efforts to build a better government in 2010 resulted in a series of accomplishments. Some were major, such as the development of open government plans by specific federal agencies. Others reminded us that a journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step. Our success in having subrecipients (in addition to first-tier recipients) of federal awards report on USAspending.gov, for example, may at first glance seem minimal. However, this advancement in transparency will prove invaluable to journalists, analysts, and citizens who need accurate, thorough, and useful data in order to see the full picture of government spending. Despite such progress, 2010 was also a year of heightened anti-government rhetoric. It seems that every year, the tone of politics in Washington gets worse. It becomes increasingly less about governing and more about party politics. Yet 2010 seemed particularly harsh because of attacks on federal spending and public protections, particularly on health care and financial reform. Those who attacked the role of government manipulated the legitimate frustration that people felt as a result of persistently high unemployment. As someone who has spent my entire professional career, spanning almost five decades, protecting the rights of individuals with disabilities, I understand the importance of a federal government that addresses civil rights and provides support to people in need. I also realize that without government support this past year, such as through the Recovery Act, state finances and unemployment would have been much worse. I assure you that OMB Watch will do everything within our power to counteract ongoing attacks on government. Government needs to be more open and accountable, to improve performance, and to better channel resources for long-term investments. However, the fact that government needs such improvements should not be an excuse to attack its role. As 2010 ended, our founding executive director, Gary Bass, announced that he will be leaving OMB Watch in 2011, and we are greatly indebted to him for building OMB Watch into a pre-eminent research and advocacy organization over the past 28 years. Because of the hard work and careful planning by Gary, the board, and staff, we are well-positioned to take OMB Watch to the next level and to be even more effective in the future. I thank each and every one of you for your continued interest and investment in our work and in a cause that I so deeply believe in. Yours truly, Paul Marchand Chairman of the Board 2


2010

From the Executive Director

began on a high note for OMB Watch. We worked diligently to continue the pattern of success we had in 2009, and our efforts paid off. By working with the Obama administration and good government groups, we made immense progress toward our long-term goal of promoting government transparency and accountability. Early in the year, we helped assess agency Open Government Plans, encouraging federal agencies to make more information available to the public. Many agencies made significant improvements to their plans as a result, and we praised them for their steps forward. In November, the president released a new executive order on controlled unclassified information that we helped shape. We praised this move, as it represented an important step forward in addressing the culture of government secrecy that has been far too pervasive for far too long. Yet we know agencies can do a better job disclosing information. There are inconsistencies in what agencies provide; some agencies offer up boat-loads of data but little in the way of high-priority information. Furthermore, the increase in use of technology solutions has not been joined by an increase in the quality of information being released. We caucused with advocates and journalists in 2010 to develop standards for high-quality information related to accountability that all agencies need to consistently and voluntarily provide in searchable formats. We’ll advocate for the adoption of these Open Government Standards in 2011. Throughout 2010, we spoke loudly on how a lack of public protections – along with weak enforcement – contributed to disasters like the BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, the explosion at the Massey Energy mine in West Virginia, and the Wall Street financial collapse. We continued to advocate for the development of strong safeguards and pushed back against those who falsely claim that regulations kill jobs. The past year also witnessed a change in leadership on Capitol Hill. The new Congress elected at the end of 2010 has put us back on the defensive, and we’ll be quick to rebuke those who don’t have the public’s best interests at heart. At OMB Watch, we envision a government that is open, transparent, and accountable to the public and that puts justice and the needs of its people first. Together, we can build this better government — a government that all Americans deserve. Just as the political landscape is changing, so is OMB Watch. After nearly three decades, I will be moving on in 2011. Thanks to careful planning, our savvy staff, a dedicated board, and committed donors, OMB Watch will not miss a beat. We’ll continue to advocate for new progressive policies, to create transparency tools that empower citizens, and to speak out against anti-government rhetoric that runs counter to our mission. Together with you, we’ll continue our pursuit of a more open and accountable government that promotes fairness and equity for all.

Yours truly,

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Gary D. Bass Executive Director


Our Mission

OMB Watch exists to increase government transparency and accountability; to ensure sound, equitable regulatory and budgetary processes and policies; and to protect and promote active citizen participation in our democracy.

Our Vision

OMB Watch envisons a more just and democratic society, one in which an

open, responsive government protects people’s health, safety, and well-being; safeguards the environment; honors the public’s right to information; values an engaged citizenry; and adequately invests in the common good.

Our Strategy Analyze Advocate Create

government actions for progressive social change information tools to hold the government accountable

Fight

government limits on nonprofit and public engagement

Build

strong local, state, and national coalitions

Communicate

daily with our stakeholders about our issues

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About OMB Watch In 1983, Executive Director Gary D. Bass formed OMB Watch in order to lift the veil of secrecy

shrouding the White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB), which oversees federal regulation, the budget, information collection and dissemination, proposed legislation, testimony by agencies, and much more. While OMB’s actions were having an enormous impact on agency operations and the pursuit of social justice, it remained largely behind the scenes — unaccountable and little understood by the public and public interest groups. By explaining governmental processes and monitoring OMB, OMB Watch helped bring sunshine to this powerful and secretive agency. From the start, we worked in a coalition to stop attacks on nonprofit speech rights. OMB Watch truly believes that an engaged citizenry is a critical element for creating social change. This is why we are dedicated to providing citizens and activists with the information, tools, and opportunities they need in order to participate in the policymaking that directly affects their lives and communities. Our issue portfolio has expanded over the last 28 years, growing to include advocacy work we saw missing elsewhere. In 1989 we created RTK Net, a searchable database that allows the public to search for toxic and chemical exposures in their communities. In 1995, we played a leadership role in stopping the passage of a balanced budget amendment that would have had disastrous implications for the equitable federal spending priorities we advocate for. In 2006, we launched FedSpending.org, a free website that allowed users to search through previously unavailable information on government spending. In 2007, it became the model for USAspending.gov. Throughout it all, we’ve remained ardent supporters of strong, smart public protections that value the environment, promote workers’ rights, and protect the health of our citizens.

Today, we work in three issue areas:

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Information and Access

Budget, Taxation and Government Performance

Regulatory Policy and Nonprofit Speech Rights

At the national level, OMB Watch is deeply engaged in policy debate and formulation and is well known for convening diverse coalitions comprised of nonprofits that deal with environmental, low-income, health, education, consumer, labor, religious, and other public interest issues.

In all our work, OMB Watch is committed to creating and promoting long-term, proactive initiatives that will advance progressive causes and will change the lives of all Americans for the better. 5 5


Websites and

Resources

www.ombwatch.org Our main website provides users with access to our research, commentary, and analysis. It is also the home of our blog, The Fine Print.

FedSpending.org Created by OMB Watch in 2006, FedSpending.org continues to provide journalists, citizens, and activists with access to a searchable database of federal spending and contract information.

Charity and Security Network www.charityandsecurity.org

A project of OMB Watch, the Charity and Security Network seeks to protect U.S. and international nonprofit organizations that fight poverty, provide essential services in underserved communities, and promote human rights and peace.

Right-to-Know Network www.rtknet.org

Since 1989, OMB Watch’s Right-toKnow Network has provided free access to the Toxics Release Inventory and other databases of environmental information.

Regulatory Resource Center www.ombwatch.org/regresources

Designed to provide citizens with avenues for participating in the regulatory process, the Regulatory Resource Center also serves as a library of information about the rulemaking process. 6


OMB Watch

Curious about patterns of regulatory failure?

Experts

Struggling to track chemical exposures in your community? OMB Watch experts spoke to the

in the News

On the Benefits of

press throughout 2010, helping to navigate the complicated policy terrain we analyze every day.

Transparency

“That is one of the big side effects of transparency -- not that it catches impropriety, but that it actually deters it in the first place.” – Craig

Jennings, Director of Federal Fiscal Policy, in Bloomberg News *

On the Need for Smart

Regulations

"It's typical in that a lot of people, including Congress, tend to only pay attention to it [regulatory failure] after some disaster has happened … We see a lot of parallels with food safety and the Food and Drug Administration only coming under scrutiny after a food-borne illness. Or lead paint in toys. Then the Consumer Product Safety Commission draws attention."

– Matt Madia, Regulatory Policy Analyst, in The Washington Post **

Expert Analysis

The Watcher

...in your inbox

Looking for more OMB Watch expertise? Want to be the first to receive our policy analysis?

Sign up to receive The Watcher, our biweekly e-newsletter. It features in-depth coverage of all our issues and is available free of charge.

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* Sophia Yan, “U.S. Government Database Reveals Details on Subcontractors,” Bloomberg News, October 28, 2010. ** Ed O’Keefe, “Obama to Review Mine Safety Rules After West Virginia Blast Killed 25 Miners,” The Washington Post, April 9, 2010. 7


Information Policy

At OMB Watch, we believe that information is power.

When citizens, activists, and analysts have access to government information, they have the power to hold their government accountable. In our 28 years of advocating for expanded access to information, we’ve seen high points and low points. Sometimes, all the government needs is guidance. While they have the information collected and are willing to distribute it, they don’t always know how to do so in a meaningful or accessible fashion. Under these circumstances, OMB Watch has played the role of collaborator. At other times, however, we’ve faced unwillingness on the part of government to make transparent the information it should. During these times, we’ve played the role of advocate. We’ve demanded greater access and fought back against infringements on our civil liberties. 2010 was a productive year for our Information Policy program. Working with the open government community and the Obama administration, our team not only expanded access to information, but also laid the groundwork for new initiatives and upcoming projects.

Working with the Open Government Directive In December 2009, the Obama administration released its landmark Open Government Directive (OGD). The OGD ordered both government agencies and the White House to produce solid proposals, called Open Government Plans, to outline methods by which they intend to expand their transparency. Much of the OGD reflected the transparency recommendations included in our 2008 report, Moving Toward a 21st Century Right-to-Know Agenda, and we were pleased to see the administration taking action on a number of our key proposals. OMB Watch played a central role in developing and assessing the OGD, as well as in evaluating the subsequent Open Government Plans as they were released. In early April, we worked collaboratively with several other public interest groups to evaluate these plans, even providing guidance to some agencies on how to improve their plans. At the end of the process, we saw several agencies with greatly improved openness initiatives and felt encouraged by their commitment to improving the public’s access to information.

Reforming Controlled Unclassified Information OMB Watch has been working for the past several years to reform the muddled and burdensome controlled unclassified information (CUI) handling system. In 2010, we saw our hard work rewarded when the Obama administration released a presidential executive order (E.O.) on CUI that created a public registry of all CUI categories and their definitions, along with their justification in statue, regulation, or government-wide policy. OMB Watch praised the new E.O., as did several other open government groups, and congratulated the administration on creating a fair and open process for initiating the reform of the unclassified information system. 8


Expanding Access to Environmental Information Our Environmental Information Initiative project was spurred by our belief that citizens and environmental advocates have a right to full access to environmental information in order to promote and protect the health of our familes, our communities, and our planet. In order to create this access, we started a project to build a proactive agenda for policy and information reform. The project began in January 2010 when — on behalf of the Bauman Foundation, Open Society Institute, CS Fund, and the Stewart R. Mott Foundation — we convened a group of advocates and representatives from local, state, and national governments to formulate a plan of action. Following the project's launch, OMB Watch staff worked throughout 2010 with individuals and organizations nationwide to discuss their information access needs and to create specific policy recommendations. On Nov. 11-13, at a conference in Washington, D.C., nearly 90 participants from across the country met to discuss and build upon the 80 recommendations our staff drafted for discussion. The participants came together to share their expertise, as well as their vision for a more open government that disseminates the environmental information its citizens need. Once the recommendations are finalized, we will be hard at work to see them implemented.

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Budget, Taxation

and Government Performance Federal spending is reflective of our national priorities. Because of this, we advocate for a deliberate plan for federal spending that meets the needs of all Americans. Furthermore, we push for transparency in federal spending. When citizens, journalists, and activists have access to spending information, they have the power to hold the government accountable. OMB Watch has a solid track record of creating access to government spending information. Our budget data experts have worked independently and through coalitions to build the tools necessary to create this access, and our work has transformed the landscape of federal spending information.

Equity in Government Accountability and Performance (E-GAP) A major part of our work to bring government information to the public includes building the tools necessary to do so. In 2006, we developed and launched FedSpending.org so citizens could access information regarding government spending. During 2010, we built upon that concept through our E-GAP project. By using data from FedSpending.org, the project will create an online tool for users to overlay government spending information with performance and community needs information. The project will encourage data-driven public policy advocacy in addressing transportation equity issues. By using this interactive website, users will be able to visualize geographically where government money has gone and compare that with community needs. Additionally, they will be able to explore how effective these programs have been in meeting the needs of specific communities. The tool is scheduled to be fully functional in 2011.

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Strengthening Federal Spending Transparency Building upon our track record of collaborative advocacy, OMB Watch continued its efforts in 2010 to expand federal spending transparency by working with other open government groups. In May 2010, OMB Watch co-hosted a daylong conference to discuss the specifics of spending disclosure, including issues with data quality and methods for linking spending information to government performance measures. The conference, titled Strengthening Federal Spending Transparency: A Working Conference to Develop a Plan of Action, brought together approximately 70 budget, technology, and performance experts along with congressional staffers and open government advocates to discuss and debate these critical aspects of federal spending transparency. Following the conference, OMB Watch organized the many creative ideas into a single report that will be presented to the Obama administration as a springboard for formulating its vision of long-range federal spending transparency.

Reforming Government Contracting Processes Our work in 2010 also included efforts to expand access to government contracting information. By doing so, we hope to build a clearer picture of how much work the federal government outsources to contractors. In March 2010, the administration issued a proposed policy letter that would refine the definition of “inherently governmental.� OMB Watch was glad to see the administration tackle the thorny issue of what exactly constitutes an inherently governmental function, or a task that only a government employee should perform, as the definition has immense consequences for contracting policies. We worked with CREDO Action to create a public petition so citizens could make their voices heard on the matter. This resulted in the submission of nearly 30,000 comments to the Office of Federal Procurement Policy (OFPP) within the Office of Management and Budget (OMB). We also offered detailed comments of our own, which advocated for greater public access to information on government contracting, among other suggestions aimed at encouraging greater oversight. Additionally, we worked throughout 2010 to improve contracting databases. We submitted comments encouraging OMB to make a new accountability database for federal contractors, called FAPIIS, available to the public. In August 2010, President Obama signed legislation into law that would make most of the information in FAPIIS publicly available. This was an important advancement in transparency and contracting policy.

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Regulatory Policy

and Nonprofit Speech Rights OMB Watch supports strong, smart public protections. Furthermore, we believe that it is the government’s responsibility to create and enforce safeguards that protect workers, the environment, and the American people. Oftentimes, we pay little attention to the importance of public safeguards until disaster strikes and it’s too late. For this reason, OMB Watch supports proactive efforts to create and enforce laws, rules, and regulations to ensure the safety of our workplaces, the health of our environment, and the quality of our food. OMB Watch is one of a few organizations nationwide with advanced expertise in the regulatory process. As a part of our strategy, we seek to educate the public and policymakers about the overwhleming benefits of strong public protections – both economic and otherwise.

Advocating for Public Protections 2010 was rife with examples of the types of disasters that occur when industry goes unregulated or when existing regulations are not effectively enforced. OMB Watch played a major role in analyzing these regulatory and market failures, including the Upper Big Branch mine explosion in West Virginia that killed 29 workers in April and the BP oil spill disaster in the Gulf of Mexico that began the same month. We monitored and reported on the investigations and changes at the Mine Safety and Health Administration, especially the enforcement failures that allowed Massey Energy, the owner of the Upper Big Branch mine, to evade government oversight and continue operating unsafely. We also investigated the waiver processes within the Department of the Interior that allowed the former Minerals Management Service to ignore a variety of environmental assessments when approving drilling permits. As part of the assessment of the Obama administration’s regulatory effectiveness, we also tracked efforts in individual agencies as they began to change their use of science in regulatory decision making, improve their efforts to include public input in policy decisions, and make their enforcement efforts more effective than in the past.

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Evaluating the Obama Administration’s Regulatory Progress In the latter half of 2010, we conducted an in-depth analysis of the Obama administration and its progress in advancing a regulatory agenda. The Obama Approach to Public Protections: Rulemaking, the first of three reports that resulted from this work, addressed the rulemaking activities at federal agencies from January 2009 through August 2010. The report concluded that agencies under Obama have been far more active in carrying out their missions than they were under the Bush administration. The second report in the series was released in December and focused on enforcement efforts at the Food and Drug Administration, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, and the Environmental Protection Agency, and the third report looked at White House efforts and the regulatory process.

Leveling the Playing Field and Safeguarding Nonprofit Advocacy Our regulatory program is committed to educating and informing the public about the benefits of responsible and smart public protections. This is because we truly believe that an engaged and informed citizenry is the best tool for creating change. In past years, OMB Watch had an entire program area devoted to promoting nonprofit speech rights. In 2010, our work shifted, and the Regulatory Policy program absorbed most of this work. As a part of our efforts to promote nonprofit speech rights, we supported disclosure of corporate campaign spending and electoral activities in the wake of the U.S. Supreme Court decision in Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission. Additionally, we will continue to work with nonprofit organizations to help clarify the standard for prohibited partisan intervention and maximize the potential for nonprofit advocacy.

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Lessons in

Public Policy

A Letter from Departing Executive Director

Gary D. Bass

In late 2010, I announced that I will be stepping down as executive director of OMB Watch in the middle of 2011. As my departure date moves ever closer, I wanted to take the opportunity to reflect on my time at OMB Watch, the experiences I’ve had, and the wonderful people who have made this an excellent place to work. If my 28 years at OMB Watch have taught me anything, it’s humility. I remember thinking, back in the 1980s, that I had made it to the big time when the National Journal did a full-page story about my work at OMB Watch, accompanied by a big picture of me. I was riding high until conservative commentator Jude Wanniski, in his 1988 Media Guide, described the piece as “a boring article about a boring person doing a boring job.” That reality check served as an important lesson. The work we all do at OMB Watch is not about personal accolades or being the center of attention; it is about crafting better public policy, about fostering positive social change and helping those in need, and about building a better government. Persistence, teamwork, and preparation are the qualities of an effective advocate. They are the ones I hope I leave as a legacy at OMB Watch. When we started OMB Watch in 1983, we were just “three guys and a goddamn mimeograph machine,” according to an official from the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) who was quoted in a Washington Post article. The OMB official was right that during our first year, it was just “three guys,” but to the chagrin of the office machines From Left: David Plocher, Gary D. Bass, Shannon Ferguson, 1984 salesperson who came to our door the day after the article appeared, we didn’t own a mimeograph machine and we couldn’t afford to buy one. Since then, some things have changed while others persist. That OMB official is long gone, but OMB Watch is still going strong (though we never did buy a mimeograph machine). Today, some describe OMB Watch as a leader in the open government community. They say we’re a group that gets enormous bang for the buck — and I agree. Unfortunately, many of the key policy concerns that existed at our founding remain today. Conservatives have tried repeatedly to silence the advocacy voice of nonprofit federal grantees. They tried it in the early 1980s, again in the 1990s, and here in the 21st century. I’m so proud of OMB Watch’s leadership that has, by working hand-in-hand with other groups, been successful in stopping these attacks. A vibrant democracy calls for an active nonprofit sector that lobbies, engages in rulemakings, litigates, promotes voter engagement, and plays a central role in public policy advocacy. 14


Many of the policy debates over the past three decades have called on a small band of Davids (including OMB Watch) to fight the Goliaths of industry. For example, “regulatory reform” became corporate code in the 1980s and 1990s for deregulation and for reducing enforcement to a wink and a nod. We warned during the George W. Bush years about the dangers of relaxing public protections, and we’ve seen the consequences of such shortsighted decisions: the BP oil disaster, the Massey Energy mine collapse in West Virginia, the Wall Street meltdown, frequent food safety crises, lead in children’s toys, and more. Despite these disasters, the same “reform” agenda is alive again. Now more than ever, collaborative advocacy is needed to once again push back against the Goliaths. On the innovation side of things, I have always looked at new information technologies as tools to empower the public, level the playing field (especially against powerful special interests), and hold government accountable. In the late 1980s, we started RTK NET as a dial-up, searchable bulletin board to access information about toxic chemicals being released in communities across the country. It was groundbreaking back then and became even more so when we moved it to the Internet. We still operate RTK NET today as a service to community activists. In the mid-1990s, when we did briefings around the country on policy issues, we ended them with trainings on how to use e-mail because we saw the potential for breaking out of top-down communications, and for creating the multidirectional policy dialogue that today we take for granted. In 2006, we launched FedSpending.org, a searchable database of most federal spending, and a few years later, the Los Angeles Times said the site started the modern-day transparency revolution. These are great accomplishments but should be viewed as the tip of the iceberg for harnessing the power of the Internet and social media to improve our democracy. Additionally, as Original OMB Watchers, May 2008 advocates for progressive social change, we need to keep in mind that, though valuable, these are only tools. It is the users of these tools who will find the true solutions by harnessing the energy and commitment needed to make change happen in the offline world. While there have been episodes of harsh criticism, intimidation, and even intentionally destructive policy proposals, those periods pale in comparison to the wonderful times I’ve had at OMB Watch for nearly three decades. I can’t remember a day when I didn’t look forward to coming to work. I love the people I have worked with and the issues we have tackled. Through it all, we used humor to lighten things up. (I’ll admit here I was the one who leaked to a reporter that we beat OMB in softball some years ago. The next time we played, a food fight between our two teams ended those softball games. We never played OMB again.) Jude Wanniski may have been right that the work I’ve done at OMB Watch is “boring,” but if that’s the case, then I only wish there were more “boring” people doing more “boring” work. For me, this work has always been rewarding. What I’ve learned is that, individually, our small accomplishments may seem insignificant, but when added together over time, they build a better government and a better life for each and every American. If this is “boring,” then I hope “boring” becomes the new “cool.”

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Current

Board of Directors Paul Marchand Chair Consultant

Ross Eisenbrey Economic Policy Institute

Ellen Miller Sunlight Foundation/Sunlight Network

Edwin S. Jayne Vice-Chair, Secretary Pamela Gilbert AFSCME Cuneo, Gilbert & LaDuca, LLP

Linda Nguyen Alliance for Children and Families

Robert Lawrence Treasurer Consultant

Edward Hailes, Jr. Advancement Project

Mark Rosenman Caring to Change

Julio C. Abreu Mental Health America

Sylvia E. Johnson United Auto Workers

Margaret Seminario AFL-CIO

Nancy Amidei The Civic Engagement Project

William C. Kamela Microsoft Corporation

James D. Weill Food Research and Action Center

Gary D. Bass OMB Watch

Mary M. Lassen Center for Community Change

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OMB Watch Staff Gavin Baker Federal Information Policy Analyst

Matt Madia Federal Regulatory Policy Analyst

Paula Shoecraft Development Director

Gary D. Bass Executive Director

Rick Melberth Director, Federal Regulatory Policy

Gary Therkildsen Federal Fiscal Policy Analyst

Joseph Cox Federal Information Policy and Fiscal Policy Fellow

Denise Moore Database Administrator/Programmer

Barbara Western Director of Operations

Hal Gordon Federal Regulatory Policy Fellow

Sean Moulton Director, Federal Information Policy

Brian Gumm Communications Director

Delaney Parrish Development and Communications Associate

Mahajaben Islam Staff Assistant

Doug Percival Technology Coordinator

Craig Jennings Director, Federal Fiscal Policy

Rich Puchalsky RTK Net Director and Programmer

Sam Kim Staff Associate

Jessica Randall Federal Regulatory Policy Analyst

Cassandra Lovejoy Federal Regulatory Policy Fellow

Sam Rosen-Amy Federal Fiscal Policy Analyst

Charity and Security Network Staff

OpenTheGovernment.org Staff

Kay Guinane Director

Amy Bennett Program Associate

Suraj Sazawal Communications and Research Coordinator

Patrice McDermott Director

Former Staff, Fellows, and Interns Amanda Adams, Sahar Aziz, Chris George, Yuanyuan Li, Lee Mason, Jaqueline Mathis, Jaymes Sanford, Rachel Sauter, Roger Strother, Brian Turnbaugh, Samantha Weiss, and Lateefah Williams

Current Staff

Nathaniel Turner Communications Intern 17


Financial Statements Total Assets Total Liabilities

2,099,183 91,988

Net Assets, 6/30/2010

2,007,195

Revenue

7/1/2008 – 6/30/2010

Grants and Contributions Contributions and Donated Services and Facilities Professional Fees Reimbursements Investment Income Publications

Total Revenue

4,131,098 374,668 445,891 222,148 -40,299 7,173

5,140,679

Revenue 7/1/2008 – 6/30/2010

18 18


Expenses

7/1/2008 – 6/30/2010

Program Services Federal Fiscal Policy and Government Performance Federal Regulatory Policy Federal Information Policy Nonprofit Speech Rights

802,572 508,565 2,045,224 984,857

Total Program Services

4,341,218

Expenses by Program 7/1/2008 – 6/30/2010

Support Services Management and General Development

249,474 360,390

Total Support Services

609,864

Total Expenses

4,951,082

Total Expenses 7/1/2008 – 6/30/2010

19 19


Thank You to our donors Your contributions and support in 2010 made our work possible.

$100,000 and above Anonymous The Bauman Foundation Carnegie Corporation of New York The Ford Foundation The William and Flora Hewlett Foundation Open Society Institute Sunlight Foundation

$10,000-99,000 Anonymous American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees The Batir Foundation C.S. Fund Cordaid The Nathan Cummings Foundation Stewart R. Mott Foundation National Security and Human Rights Pooled Fund, a project of the Proteus Fund Pacific Life Rockefeller Brothers Fund The Scherman Foundation, Inc. Surdna Foundation, Inc.

Up to $9,999 Anonymous Joseph Abelon James W. Abernathy Julio Abreu Alan and Paulette Adams Amanda Adams Robert C. Adams Family Trust U/A/D Terry Agee Darryl Alexander Nancy Amidei Douglas Amy and Susan Rosen David Arons 20

Michael Ash Patrick Baker Florence Barad Gary Bass and Suzanne Feurt Astrid Berkson Keith Bernhard Leslie Boden Robert Book Elizabeth T. Boris Thomas Bowen Sandra Braman Danielle Brian Francis and Victoria Buckley Maureen Cadorette Kathryn A. Calder Diane Canova Lee Capkin Win Carson Elizabeth Champney Catherine Chang Dr. Mary M. Cleveland David Cohen Stanley Collender Rob and Diane Collier Royanna Commisso Roger Cook Steven Croley Cuneo, Gilbert & LaDuca, LLP Peter Curia and Cheri Van Sant Mary Rose Curtis Shirley Davis Michael Defreitas Pablo Eisenberg Ross Eisenbrey Michael Ellsworth Al Espenchied Daniel Feinstein


Leslie Fried Meredith Fuchs Barbara Fullerton Richard Gaib John Glenn Joseph Goldman David Goldston Emily Goodstein Brian Gumm Erika Hagensen Marlene and Samuel Halperin Charitable Trust Michael Halpern Johnie Hammond Richard and Joyce Haven Jake Hawkes Diane Heminway James Hemm Lowell Herbrandson Hildegard Hix Natalie Houghton Adam Hughes Joanne Hutton and Sally Raymond Flora Ingenhousz Christopher Isensee Jonathan Jacobs Ed Jayne Sylvia E. Johnson Bill Kamela JJ Kang John Katona Raymond Keeling Sam Kim John F. Klein Leona Klerer Lawrence Krantz Paula Kuttner J.W. and Eleanor Lang Mary M. Lassen Robert Lawrence and Elizabeth Engberg Vivian Layton Richard and Sylvia Liroff Christopher Lish Catherine Lockyer

Greg Loflin Ronald and Judith Madia Michael Madias Paul Marchand Jan Masaoka Jacqueline Mathis J. Michael McCloskey Charles R. McClure Thomas and Cathleen McGarity Michael McGillivray Althea McLuckie Rick Melberth Lori Metcalf David Michaels and Gail Dratch Ellen Miller Nancy Miller Art Montz Denise Moore Anita Nager Charles Neidich Stephen Nicolai Howard Nizewitz Anne and Jamie O’Connell Joseph Onek Chris Pabon Leslie Parrish Janine Perlman Barbara Petersen Kathleen Pierce David Plocher and Mary C. Brittingham John and Wanda Potts Laura Punnett Randy Rabinowitz Beryl Radin Carolyn Raffensperger Judith Randal Lynn Rhinehart Bruce Richman Christine Roane Donald and Mary Robinson Peter Rogers Beth Rosenberg Mark Rosenman and Mary Lee Stein Mattie Rudinow 21

P B Rule Hugh and Barbara Sanborn Nicholas Sanders Buzz Sawyer William J. Schallert Cynthia Schneider Richard and Sharon Schoech Howard Schoenfeld Margaret Seminario Frances J. Seymour Peter Shane William Sharfman Daniel Shively Paula Shoecraft Peter Sills David Skaggs Benjamine Slade Jonathan Small Robert and Barbara Smucker Alan Sobel Carl Spier David Straus John Stuckey Mary Taylor Marie-Claude Thompson Jauna Todd Jim Tozzi Alene Valkanas Kathy Van Dame Barbara VanHanken David Vladeck Jim Weill Dorothy Weiss James Wellman Mark Wendleton Barbara Western and Bryan Baxter Robert Westervelt Betty J. Willhoite William K. Worlie


This is a paper-free, digital document Special thanks to Sam Rosen-Amy for providing photos for this report

OMB Watch 1742 Connecticut Avenue, NW Washington, DC 20009 202-234-8494 www.ombwatch.org


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