By Jerry Zremski
Odd as it may seem, we regionals spend a good part of the year tracing
the kind of spending the federal government does back home. Yet only
occasionally - often as April 15 approaches - do we look at the other
side of the ledger.
There are some good stories to look for there, though, from a regional
perspective. From the writing of tax law to the actual collection of
taxes, this is a subject that we regionals should not ignore.
The place to begin is where we always begin - with the members of
Congress whom we cover. They may or may not have special tax breaks that
they want to write into the tax code. If they do, they're sure to show
up as separate bills that the members hope will eventually get included
in this year's big tax bill, said a House Ways and Means Committee
staffer who asked not to be identified by name.
The best way to find these bills, of course, is to check Thomas, the
online gold mine of legislative information. It's always a good idea to
look at Thomas every few weeks to see if your members have introduced
any new bills that they haven't told you about, and tax bills are often
just the type that might go unannounced.
To use Thomas to find the bills your member introduced, go to http://thomas.loc.gov/bss/d106query.html#memb
You're especially likely to find tax bills there for your member if he
or she is a member of the House Ways and Means Committee, which is the
home of virtually all tax legislation. For example, one of the members I
cover, Rep. Amo Houghton, R-N.Y., has four bills listed for the 106th
Congress, and three of them deal with tax issues.
Alas, two of them are rather arcane and not especially newsworthy, but
I am likely to write about them if they get anywhere as tax legislation
moves forward. The third, though, will be a good story for me: It says
if someone gets a reward for helping solve a crime, that money would be tax-exempt.
None of Houghton's tax bills are the kind of old-fashioned narrow
tax-break giveaways that have given Congress a bad name in the past. And
that's no surprise: a top tax staffer on the Hill said that the Ways and
Means Chairman, Rep. Bill Archer of Texas, frowns on tax breaks tailored
to individual companies or interests, which means that fewer and fewer
members are introducing them.
That same staffer noted that tax legislation offered by members rarely
makes it into law on its own. Instead, the goal of every member is to
get his or her tax proposal into the chairman's mark, the original draft
of tax legislation that Archer does every year that there's a major tax
bill.
While it's still early in the game, it's a good idea to keep in touch
with Archer's committee press aides to see when the chairman's mark will
be ready and marked up. The number is (202) 225-8933.
That's the easy part of covering tax issues. Covering the ramifications
of tax policy is a bit more difficult.
Unlike covering the budget, for example, there are not quite so many
regional angles, simply because tax rates, unlike federal spending, are
geographically uniform.
Disparities develop, though, on a state-by-state basis, and they're
always worth reporting. Two good sources are available along these lines.
Every summer, the Tax Foundation publishes a report called Federal Tax
Burden by State. And that's exactly what it is: It includes annual
figures such as per capita federal tax burden by state, per capita
expenditures by state and type, per capita federal taxes and
expenditures as a percentage of the U.S. average and adjusted federal
expenditures per dollar of taxes. Best of all, it's very timely, with
some of the figures even entailing projections a year into the future.
For a copy of that publication, contact Bill Ahearn, the Tax
Foundation's spokesman, at (202) 783-2760. The non-profit, nonpartisan
foundation also has good data on state tax collections on background
booklets called "The Journalist's Handbook on Tax Policy" and "A
Journalist's Handbook on Tax Reform."
For a more detailed look at federal tax collections by state, check out
Sen. Daniel Patrick Moynihan's annual report, "The Federal Budget and
the States." Released every fall and published with the Taubman Center
for State and Local Government at Harvard University, Moynihan's
publication includes in-depth, state-by-state profiles of federal
taxation and spending, along with volumes of historical data. For a copy
of the latest report, which covers federal fiscal year 1997, contact
Moynihan's press secretary, Mike Waterman, at (202) 224-4451.
Of course, the Internal Revenue Service has plenty of regional
information, too. For example, its annual Tax Databook - available from
the Government Printing Office for $6 - includes all sorts of data
broken down by the IRS's 33 district offices. The databook shows the
number of tax returns audited, the number of refunds issued and the
amount of tax revenue collected by each district.
Terry Lemons, a former regional reporter who is now an IRS spokesman,
also recommends that reporters get a copy of IRS Publication 17, the
annual Tax Guide for Individuals. Lemons said this book, which is free
at any IRS walk-in center, "is the condensed version of the tax bible.
It gives you a nice overview of what's in the federal income tax."
Lemons can be reached at (202) 622-3031. He will be happy to steer you
to the regional press person in the IRS district office back in the part
of the country you cover, who would be the contact person for any local
issue.
While that IRS Tax Databook gives some information on audits, better
data is available from the Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse at
Syracuse University. The clearinghouse's latest report, showing audit
data for 1998, will be published later in March. Reporters will have
access to it on an embargoed basis before it is made public. For more
information, contact Sue Long at (315) 443-3563.
TRAC's recent reports detail how likely residents of each major metro
area are to get audited by the IRS - an important regional story if ever
there was one. The center's past reports on on the Internet at:
http://trac.syr.edu
Other potential sources for tax stories include:
Rossotti is expected to discuss the IRS's reorganization efforts and
the 1998 tax season before taking questions.
For security reasons, and because attendance will be limited, RRA
members who want to attend are asked to RSVP to Terry Lemons of IRS
media relations, (202) 622-3031.
Reporters who attend should gather in the lobby at the main entrance of
IRS headquarters, which is on the south side of the building, at 1111
Constitution Ave. Please meet there at 9:45 to allow for time to clear
through security and go up to the room where Rossotti will hold the
session.
The event is opened only to members who have paid their 1999 dues.
The club offers two awards of particular interest to the regional press:
the NPC Washington Correspondence Award and the Robin Goldstein Award
for Washington Regional Reporting.
While both awards have featured many winners from the regional press
corps, the club's other awards also are open to all Washington
correspondents.
For your convenience, RRA has agreed to include a copy of this year's
NPC award registration brochure in your Regional Reporter. We at RRA
encourage all of our members to show off their talents by entering the
National Press Club awards contests.
By Christine Dorsey
What to write, what to write ...
I'm obligated each month to fill up this column with wonderful
insights, opine on the state of regional reporting and motivate each and
every one of our members to write out their dues check (subliminal
message) and think, "gee, what a terrific organization."
Whose idea was this column, anyway? Well, that would be me. Since I'm
the head whip-cracker in RRA at the moment, I get the odious job of
harassing board members into submitting stories to the newsletter. That
would include yours truly.
But wait! I have a better idea. I think I shall begin harassing you,
too! Let me rephrase that: I think I shall begin gently calling on my
colleagues in the regional media to offer some of their own wonderful
insights for inclusion in the Regional Reporter.
After all, nearly everyone who receives this monthly publication covers
Washington a little differently than the rest. Washington journalism
could certainly use some new and interesting ideas on how to bring the
Oval Office Exploits, Monica Beach and the Senate Floor into the living
rooms of all Americans.
That bit of sarcasm is exactly my point. We in the regional press have
the luxury of NOT covering the Monica story. Of course, some of us must
cover the national stories, and some of us find pieces of the story that
are particularly local.
But for the most part, our papers and affiliates are happy to let us
roam Capitol Hill in search of truly local news.
Each month, our board sits down to discuss ideas for events or
newsletter reports that would help our colleagues get good local
stories.
But it ain't easy. So, I'm asking for help. Please e-mail me with ideas
for good regional stories. We all are "experts" on various issues
because of the stories we tend to follow. But maybe those stories can
gain a bigger audience if we simply share our ideas. This isn't the
first time I've asked the membership for some help, and it surely won't
be the last.
But please think about some stories you or your colleagues have done
recently, and consider writing a "how it was done" story for the RRA newsletter.
You know you want to...
Jeff Miller is a new Scripps-Howard reporter for both the Evansville,
Ind., Courier & Press and the Ventura, Calif., County Star. Jeff has been in Washington since 1995 and previously worked as editor of the Scripps-McClatchy Western Service news wire.
Rob Gavin has left Syracuse Newspapers to become statehouse
correspondent for the Seattle Post Intelligencer. His position has not
yet been filled.
Gannett News Service reporter Carl Weiser, who covers Delaware and Pennsylvania, is the father of a baby boy. Samuel John Weiser was born Feb. 15 in Arlington, Va., at 7 pounds, 12 ounces. The elder Weiser is
the RRA's vice president.
A correction from last time: John Brinkley, a former California
correspondent for Scripps-Howard, has gone to the State Department, not
the Interior Department as reported in last month's column.
-- Pat Howe,
The Buffalo News
IRS to meet with regionals
The Regional Reporters Association will hold a briefing with Charles
Rossotti, commissioner of the Internal Revenue Service, at 10 a.m. on Monday, April 5,
at IRS headquarters.
Goldstein deadline nears
Heads up, regionals. The deadline for the 1999 National Press Club
Awards is coming up.
President's Report
Seeking tips from fellow regionals
RESTIVE REGIONS
Mary Boyle recently established a Washington bureau for the Gazette of
Colorado Springs. Mary, who has been here since mid-November, previously worked as a Denver-based statehouse reporter for the paper.
Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
The Special Committee on the Year 2000 Technology has its own Web site: www.senate.gov/~y2k
It has updates, committee information and a page with links to a whole host of government agency Y2K sites.
If you want some solid technical information, go to ZDNet's Y2K page. (This even includes information on how to check your own system for the bug). It's at http://www.zdnet.com/pcmag/special/y2k/ index.html
And, for up-to-date financial information - along with another good collection of Y2K testimony, reports and interviews - go to the Federal Reserve Board's site at http://www.bog.frb.fed.us/y2k
-- Lolita Baldor,
New Haven Register
Groppe reported that 1999 dues collections were lagging the 1998 pace. So far, about 70 members have paid a total of $1,400. That compares to $1,640 collected by March 1998, Groppe said. Groppe reiterated a warning that scofflaws will be cut off the RRA e-mail service on May 1. Dorsey asked board members to contact those who owe.
Dorsey also noted that various agency and association press relations officers were happy to learn of RRA's existence as a result of her appearance at a U.S. Newswire event. Vice President Carl Weiser is the proud poppa of a baby boy. Weiser reminded the board he will not be seeking the presidency next year because he is taking three months of family leave. Groppe reported a bank balance of $5,300.
The Newsmaker Committee reported a recent success and future plans. Board member Jennifer Maddox said 17 report ers attended a briefing by the head of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and recommended it be considered as an annual event.
Board member Jerry Zremski gave a mid-March estimate for a sit down with HUD Secretary Andrew Cuomo. Board member Susan Roth volunteered to consider an event with the Federal Emergency Management Agency.
Regarding Professional Development, board member Jim Rosen invited RRA to co-sponsor a Freedom of Information Act event with the National Press Club.
Joseph W. Westphal, assistant Army secretary for civil works, spoke for more than 90 minutes in a Pentagon conference room. The meeting was arranged by the Regional Reporters Association.
After giving a brief overview of the corps' programs, Westphal answered very detailed questions.
Westphal told reporters from coastal states that the corps would give more priority to combating beach erosion if Congress changes the financing split to require local sponsors to pick up a greater share of the costs.
On "Challenge 21," a controversial program designed to encourage residents to move out of flood plains, Westphal said about 100 communities nationwide already have expressed an interest in getting funds. The plan would save the corps the expense of building more levies and dams that often break down again after heavy storms.
On deepening rivers and ports to accommodate larger ships, Westphal said the biggest hurdles revolve around what to do with the dredged materials, some contaminated with industrial toxins. He also touched on the Corps' new focus on environmental restoration of such areas as the Everglades.