Sunlight Foundation

Press Articles & Mentions Archives

November 2007

• FCW.com - Progress on spending database creeps along

  The Federal Financial Accountability and Transparency Act celebrated its first birthday Nov. 29, and the effort to put the new database online is falling behind.

• The Christian Science Monitor - With Lott's exit, fresh buzz over lobby rules

  Sen. Trent Lott's surprise resignation this week set off a leadership shuffle in Senate GOP ranks – and talk that the No. 2 Republican is cashing in his 35 years on Capitol Hill for a K Street lobby shop.

• San Diego Union Tribune - Political correctness thrown into fray of 'dangerous city' report

  Nearly one of every 13 people living in Detroit does not have a job. Moreover, eight of every 10 is African-American – a racial group that, like it or not, is more likely than others in this country to kill or rob.

• Roll Call - Household Exception for House

  Thanks to new, narrowly written House earmark disclosure rules, when House Majority Whip James Clyburn (D-S.C.) earmarked $235,000 for a fitness center serving low-income residents of Columbia, S.C., he did not have to publicly disclose that his daughter works for the city-owned center as its marketing and membership director.

• Belton (Texas) Journal - Tech Talk: Track Congressional spending via Google Earth

  As the Internet continues to grow, so does the open sharing of information.

• The Washington Post - Earmarks Now Everybody's Business

  Who put a million dollars for an "Extended Cold Weather Clothing System" into the 2008 defense spending bill President Bush signed yesterday?

• Bloomberg - Democrats Pushed to Raise 'Breathtaking' $154 Million for Party

  House Democrats, eager to hold on to their new majority in the 2008 elections, are seeking to raise a record $154 million for the party from incumbent lawmakers -- more than four times the amount Republicans are trying to collect.

• CongressDaily - Members of Congress also wait on FOIA requests

  When 51 Democrats wrote the Pentagon in 2005 seeking information related to Britain's Downing Street memo on U.S. planning for the Iraq War, the signatories -- representing almost one-eighth of the House -- might have demanded deference.

• Politico - Senate GOP leaders target earmarks

  A multilevel operation aimed at harnessing the power of the Internet represents the most coordinated attack yet on earmarks, considered a cornerstone of legislative dealmaking for the way they have been used to induce votes and curry favor with supporters.

• PRI: Public Radio International - Fair Game: Pork Spending

  Ever wonder what goes into a hot dog? You might not want to know. Fair Game's Ritch Duncan investigates what kind of pork is going into the spending bills Congress is writing.

• TheHill.com - Floor vote next for defense bill

  Senate and House conferees on Tuesday agreed on a $471.2 billion military spending bill for 2008 that would pay for future weapons programs and the more immediate needs of troops and their families.
  

• National Journal's Technology Daily - Coalition seeks public's view of government transparency issues

  A coalition that promotes transparency in government has partnered with an online debate forum to let the public speak its mind on the pros and cons of government transparency.

• Roll Call - Earmarks, Earmarks Everywhere

  Budget watchdogs who are experts at navigating spending bills for earmark boondoggles can now test their piloting skills on an actual map, thanks to a new application from Google Earth.

• Tennessean.com - Web site keeps tabs on pork barrel politics

  For everyone who has ever wondered just how Congress is spending your tax dollars, wonder no more.

• The Washington Post - Another Snag for Electronic Filing Bill

  The Senate appears deadlocked over legislation that would require members to file their campaign finance forms electronically -- the method used by their House counterparts, presidential candidates and the majority of state lawmakers.

• Mother Jones - Hogging the road

  The nation's transportation infrastructure has long been a haven for pork-barrel spending. But during 12 years of Republican leadership in Congress, pitching pork was raised to an art form, and the nation's highways especially became a target for private investors looking to get rich. That was thanks, in part, to two of the Congress' all-time pork masters, Pennsylvania's Bud Shuster and Alaska's Don Young, chairs of the powerful House Transportation Committee.