2Day in #OpenGov 2/28/2012

by

Policy Fellow Matt Rumsey wrote this post.

Here is Tuesday’s take on transparency-related news items, congressional committee hearings, transparency-related bills introduced in Congress, and transparency-related events.

News Roundup:

Campaign Finance

  • The Pharmaceutical Research and Manufactures of America, the drug lobby’s trade association, gave more than $9 million to politically active 501(c)(4) groups during the 2010 election season. (iWatch News)
  • The major political committees focused on Governors follow state, not federal, campaign finance rules. They are registered as 527 groups and can actively solicit donations from corporate interests. (National Journal)
  • Democratic lobbyists, who are barred from raising money for President Obama’s campaign, are not jumping to donate to Priorities USA, the super PAC supporting the president. (The Hill)

Government

  • The Senate may take up a version of the STOCK act passed by the house. Both chambers recently passed similar legislation, but no moves have been made to reconcile differences between the two versions. (Politico)
  • A battle may be brewing over the issue of “open access” to government funded scientific research. But, neither opponents or proponents of the issue in Congress are itching for a fight and it appears more likely that a compromise will be negotiated. (New York Times)
  • Opinion: Prosecuting whistleblowers is antithetical to open government. (Gov Fresh/Alex Howard)

Relevant committee hearings scheduled for 2/28:

  • Government 2.0: GAO unveils new duplicative program report. Oversight and Government Reform.  9:30 am. 2154 RHOB. Full Committee Hearing.

Relevant bills introduced:

  • None.
Transparency events scheduled for 2/28:
  • None.

Do you want to track transparency news? You can add our feed to your Google Reader, or view it on our Netvibes page.