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