2Day in #OpenGov 2/9/2012

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Policy Fellow Matt Rumsey wrote this post.

Here is Thursday’s look at transparency-related news items, congressional committee hearings, transparency-related bills introduced in Congress, and transparency-related events.

News Roundup:

Campaign Finance
  • Senator John Tester (D-MT) took a cue from Senate candidates in Massachusetts and publicly challenged his Republican opponent, Rep. Denny Rehberg, to sign a pledge publicly rejecting TV and radio ads from third-party groups. (Politico)
  • Rep. Fred Upton (R-MI) endorsed Mitt Romney in advance of the Michigan Republican primary. The same morning, Upton had a fundraiser hosted by Romney’s campaign lawyer Ben Ginsberg. (Republic Report)
  • The U.S. Chamber of Commerce jumped into the 2012 House and Senate elections. The Chamber will spend $10 million to advertise in eight Senate and 12 House races. (National Journal)

Government

  • There are currently 12 vacant Inspector General positions across the federal government. Where Are All the Watchdogs tracks the vacancies and provides information on the necessity of IGs. (POGO)
  • Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington filed a complaint against Rep. Michael Grimm (R-NY) over allegations that he accepted illegal campaign contributions. The story first came to light as part of a New York Times report. (The Hill)
International
  • Users of the Chinese microblogging service Weibos who are located in Beijing are being required to post under their real names or be banned from the service. (Yahoo/Digital Trends)
  • South Korean prosecutors indicted a freedom-of-speech activist for retweeting messages from an official North Korean government twitter account. The activist claimed his actions were meant as satire. (Global Voices)

Relevant committee hearings scheduled for 2/9:

House:

  • None.
Senate:
  • Business meeting to consider S.1945, to permit the televising of Supreme Court proceedings. 10:00 am. 226 DSOB. Judiciary Committee.

Relevant bills introduced:

  • The DISCLOSE Act was introduced in the House by Rep. Chris Van Hollen (D-MD) and announced by Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-CA). There’s no official link yet available, but we have uploaded it here.
Transparency events scheduled for 2/9:

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