Sunlight Foundation

WASHINGTON, DC – A blogger at Talking Points Memo (www.tpmcafe.com) has uncovered a startling Congressional earmark -- as part of a project launched by the Sunlight Foundation and other organizations -- which seems to personally benefit a small number of lobbyists.

The blogger, who wished to remain anonymous other than her online name of “Mrs. Panstreppon,” was struck by an earmark of $1,175,000 for the “Friends of the Congressional Glaucoma Caucus Foundation” in the Fiscal Year 2007 Labor, Heath and Human Services, and Education approproations bill. She dug further and discovered that the foundation was created by a Washington healthcare lobbyist, S. J. "Bud" Grant, in late 1999.

Mrs. Panstreppon looked up the Foundation’s tax filing, which revealed immense personal profit from the Foundation by Grant, another lobbyist, and possibly a former aide to a senior Member of Congress.

Despite a relatively small amount in revenue ($5 million), Grant has commanded a salary and benefits from the Foundation of around $400,000. The Treasurer of the Foundation, Robert Bishop, also a lobbyist, earns $114,000 in pay for only 20 hours of work per week. Another consultant, Sharmon Paschal Thornton, makes $122,500 in consulting fees from the Foundation. A person named Sharmon Thornton was once a legislative aide to Rep. Charles Rangel of New York, though it is not clear that the consultant for the Foundation is the same one.

Mrs. Panstreppon began researching the appropriations legislation after learning about Sunlight’s “Exposing Earmarks” project (www.sunlightfoundation.com/exposingearmarks), which, along with numerous other organizations, is encouraging citizens to shine light on each of the nearly 2000 earmarks currently contained in the FY 2007 Labor, HHS, and Education appropriations legislation.

“Mrs. Panstreppon made a shocking discovery in this appropriations bill that no member of the mainstream media took the time to find, and she deserves a lot of kudos,” said Sunlight Foundation National Director Zephyr Teachout. “This highlights the need for average citizens to utilize the tools we are creating, to bring more openness to Congress. There are literally thousands of other earmarks in this bill that have not been researched, and it is imperative that every citizen join our effort, so we can more completely know how Congress is spending our money.”

The tax information for the Foundation can be found here: http://www.sunlightfoundation.com/files/Friends2004.pdf

The full blog entry on the find can be found here: http://houseoflabor.tpmcafe.com/blog/mrs_panstreppon/2006/aug/22/my_contribution_to_the_sunlight_foundatons_earmark_project

Founded in January, 2006, the mission of the Sunlight Foundation is to strengthen the relationship between lawmakers and their constituents. Sunlight puts information and tools in citizens’ hands so they can learn more about what Congress and their elected representatives are doing. Our ultimate goal of full transparency by Congress, its Members and staff will help reduce corruption, ensure greater accountability, and foster public trust in this vital institution of democracy.
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