Dirt Diggers Digest No. 28
January 31, 2003
Editor: Philip Mattera
1. GAO compiles list of companies disclosing accounting irregularities
2. Federal government launches portal on regulatory proceedings
3. U.S. PIRG report analyzes toxics release data
4. Tracking the millionaire presidential candidates
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1. GAO compiles list of companies disclosing accounting irregularities
The General Accounting Office <www.gao.gov> has released a
database of more than 900 publicly traded companies that have
restated their financial results because of accounting irregularities
since the beginning of 1997. The database is contained in a
report (GAO-03-395R) that updates a previous report (GAO-03-138)
requested by Maryland Senator Paul Sarbanes. Because the GAO
obtained data on the amounts of the restatements from what it called
proprietary sources, the database does not list the amount of each
company's restatement, but the GAO says that the revisions as a
whole amounted to about $100 billion.
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2. Federal government launches portal on regulatory proceedings
The Bush Administration has launched a website <www.regulations.gov>
that provides information on current regulatory proceedings throughout
the federal government. The stated aim of the site is to facilitate wider
public participation in the proceedings by allowing easy electronic submission
of comments. This sounds like a good government measure, though it is
possible that many of the new submissions will come from parties (especially
businesses) that tend to oppose new regulations. Gary Bass of OMB Watch
was quoted in the Washington Post as saying that the website "creates an
opportunity for industry to pile on, but I hope in the long run it empowers the
public to participate."
Regulations.gov can also be used by researchers simply to track proceedings.
The site allows one to search either by the name of the federal agency or by
a keyword contained in the proposed rule.
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3. U.S. PIRG report analyzes toxics release data
U.S. PIRG <www.uspirg.org>, the national lobbying office for the state Public
Interest Research Groups, has issued a report analyzing data from the EPA's
Toxics Release Inventory to highlight the extent to which U.S. industries are
discharging chemicals linked to serious health hazards such as cancer,
neurological damage and reproductive disorders. The report. "Toxic Releases
and Health," has maps of each state pinpointing the major sources of the
most hazardous discharges. It also has an appendix (C.3) that lists the 50
industrial facilities responsible for the largest amount of releases in categories
such as cancer-causing chemicals and dioxin.
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4. Tracking the millionaire presidential candidates
The Center for Public Integrity www.public-i.org> has created what it calls a
"document warehouse" that assembles data on the 2004 U.S. presidential and
vice presidential candidates. The site, titled The Buying of the President 2004,
can be reached directly at www.bop2004.org. Among the information gathered
by the Center are the candidates' financial disclosure statements, which show
that most of the announced candidates have reported a net worth in excess
of $1 million. The leader of the pack is Sen. John Kerry, whose wife is an heir to
the Heinz ketchup fortune; he reported a net worth in the range of $196 million
to $688 million (the disclosure forms don't require a great deal of specificity). The
website also has links to campaign contribution filings and other disclosure
documents.
-- Philip Mattera <pmattera@goodjobsfirst.org>