DDD53

Dirt Diggers Digest No. 53

June 18, 2004


Editor: Philip Mattera


1. Future of federal contracts database in question

2. Halliburton Watch website launched

3. Report documents more than $1 billion in subsidies to Wal-Mart

4. EWG produces extensive resource on hard-rock mining rights

5. Lobbyist spending rises as states weaken disclosure rules

6. New edition of leading FOIA guide released


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1. Future of federal contracts database in question


The Mother Jones website recently posted an article on the Federal

Procurement Data System (FPDS) that raises questions on the

future public availability of this database of federal contracts (see

www.motherjones.com/news/update/2004/05/05_401.html). The

MoJo piece, by Michael Scherer, notes that responsibility for

this resource on contracts has itself been contracted out to a

private company--Global Computers Enterprises Inc.--and suggests

that GCE may impose prohibitive charges for access, effectively

preventing many researchers from using the system.


About a year ago, GCE was awarded a contract to create a "next

generation" FPDS--an event that attracted little attention or criticism,

in part because the system has been widely seen as deficient (see,

for example, GAO report GAO-04-295R).


GCE has not announced its fee schedule. Before GCE took over, a year's

FPDS was sold on CD-ROM for about $60 (or $500 in a version that

permitted downloading of data). For now, access to current FPDS data is

available for free at <http://www.fpdc.gov/fpdc/FpdsContractorForm1a.htm>.

(Thanks for Rick Rehberg for pointing out the Mother Jones article.)


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2. Halliburton Watch website launched


Speaking of federal contractors, Essential Information recently launched a

website called Halliburton Watch <www.halliburtonwatch.org> to track one

of the most controversial firms doing business with the federal government.

The site has current news on the company as well as extensive material on

its dubious record on matters of corporate social responsibility. There is

also a link <http://www.halliburtonwatch.org/about_hal/houston.pdf> to

HOUSTON, WE HAVE A PROBLEM, an alternative annual report on

Halliburton produced by CorpWatch, Global Exchange and others.


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3. Report documents more than $1 billion in subsidies to Wal-Mart


Good Jobs First recently released SHOPPING FOR SUBSIDIES: HOW

WAL-MART USES TAXPAYER MONEY TO FINANCE ITS NEVER-ENDING

GROWTH <http://www.goodjobsfirst.org/pdf/wmtstudy.pdf>. The report, whose

principal author is Dirt Diggers editor Phil Mattera, found more than $1 billion

in economic development subsidies that had been provided by state and local

governments to Wal-Mart stores and distribution centers in 35 states. Wal-Mart

responded to the report by claiming that local governments came out ahead

after providing the subsidies, given the sales tax revenues that are created by

its stores. The company conveniently ignored the loss of revenues from the

local merchants displaced by its stores, while at the same time obscuring the

fact that sales taxes are paid by its customers, not the retailer.


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4. EWG produces extensive resource on hard-rock mining rights


The Environmental Working Group has assembled comprehensive information

on the 28,000 companies and individuals that have acquired hard-rock mining

rights on more than 5 million acres of public land. Thanks to the antiquated

provisions of the 1872 Mining Law, these rights have been sold for less than

$5 an acre. The online version of EWG's report, WHO OWNS THE WEST?

<http://www.ewg.org/mining/page2.php>, includes a search engine for accessing

information on claim owners, interactive maps, a primer on mining rights and

ownership analyses of 12 states.


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5. Lobbyist spending rises as states weaken disclosure rules


In the latest installment in its Hired Guns series, the Center for Public

Integrity has found that lobbyists in 41 states reported spending more

than $889 million trying to influence state legislators in 2003, a big

increase from the year before. The report, UNDER PRESSURE

<http://www.publicintegrity.org/hiredguns/report.aspx?aid=275>,

notes that several states (e.g., Alaska) have been relaxing their

lobbyist reporting requirements.


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6. New edition of leading FOIA guide released


The Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press has published a

new edition (the 9th) of its comprehensive guide HOW TO USE THE

FEDERAL FOI ACT. The guide is more important than ever for advising

journalists and researchers on how to obtain government information in

the increasingly secretive, post-9/11 environment. It can be found on the

web at http://www.rcfp.org/foiact/index.html.


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A cumulative list of resources featured in the

Dirt Diggers Digest can be found on the web at:

http://www.corp-research.org/dirt_diggers_index.htm


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Philip Mattera

Research Director & Director of the Corporate Research Project

Good Jobs First

pmattera@goodjobsfirst.org

www.corp-research.org