DDD28

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>