- Bloomberg News - AT&T Gives $4.4 Million in Donations, Passes UPS as Top Giver
(Bloomberg) -- AT&T Inc., which is battling over Internet access, contributed $4.4 million to federal candidates and the political parties for the 2008 election, the most among corporate political action committees.
- Washington Times - Aide paid by lobby with foreign clients
A university dean picked as one of Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton's top diplomatic deputies has earned tens of thousands of dollars in part-time consulting work from a prominent Washington lobbying firm with a roster of foreign clients that include a Dubai-backed company and Colombia's trade bureau.
- NPR: Kojo Nnamdi Show - The Future of Government Transparency
Sunlight Foundation's Chief Evangelist , Greg Elin, appears on National Public Radio's Kojo Nnamdi show to discuss the future of government transparency in digital age.
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WAMU, a National Public Radio in Washington D.C., interviewed Sunlight Foundation's Chief Evangelist Greg Elin on the Kojo Nnamdi Show.
- USA Today - Opinion: Let the sun shine on records
It's a simple principle: People should be able to keep an eye on what their government is doing. Secrecy should be minimal.
- Glenn Post Star - Editorial: High praise for Gillibrand’s commitment to open government
The Sunlight Foundation, a government openness watchdog group that is rarely complimentary of public officials in Washington, had some rare praise today for one of them in particular – our former congresswoman, Kirsten Gillibrand.
- Roll Call - Rangel Money Is Returned
Rep. Peter Welch (D-Vt.) confirmed Monday that he has returned campaign contributions from Ways and Means Chairman Charlie Rangel (D-N.Y.), in expectation that the House ethics committee will soon renew its investigation of the senior Democrat.
- Pittsburgh Tribune-Review - Bush picks cash in on contacts
HARRISBURG -- Two years after he stepped down as the nation's first head of Homeland Security, Tom Ridge's company, Ridge Global LLC, cosponsored a Washington event matter-of-factly titled "Accessing funds from the Department of Defense and the Department of Homeland Security."
- New York Observer - Senator Gillibrand's First Sunday Press Conference
At her first Sunday press conference as senator in New York City, Kirsten Gillibrand reiterated her support for “hunters' rights,” calling it a “core value for our region and for our state,” but said her “advocacy will become broader.”
- Las Vegas Review Journal - Opinion:Transparency is the best of disinfectants
President Barack Obama hit the ground running on his first full day in office, issuing two memoranda ordering government openness and an executive order removing some obstacles to accessing the records of former presidents.
- The Oregonian - Opinion: Obama's welcome call for open government
For eight years, essentially, the Bush administration gave the finger to the news media -- and, by extension, to the American public. George W. Bush and Dick Cheney were blatantly hostile to the notion that their actions, and almost all actions of the government they headed, should be as open and transparent as possible.
- Austin American Statesman (Cox News Service) - Obama wins praise for transparency efforts
WASHINGTON — In the midst of an unprecedented flood of federal spending to refloat the grounded economy, President Barack Obama is offering hope to those who fear taxpayers' money will be siphoned off for bridges to nowhere, extravagant office furnishings and other boondoggles.
- Congress Daily - Obama's FOIA directive brings praise, bit of skepticism
In a nod to his campaign promise to facilitate government transparency, President Obama issued a Freedom of Information Act memorandum as one of his first official orders Wednesday. In it, he instructed all members of his administration to operate under principles of openness, transparency and of engaging citizens.
- York Daily Record - New rules let Congress 'tweet' or star on YouTube
U.S. Rep. Bill Shuster, R-Blair County, has an online video of himself urging the House of Representatives to drill for oil. U.S. Rep. Allyson Schwartz, D-Philadelphia, has one of her accusing President Bush of not doing enough to support children without insurance
- Wired - The Wired Presidency: Can Obama Really Reboot the White House?
Barack Obama promises to reboot the White House. But first he'll have to navigate the blogosphere and deep layers of federal gobbledygook.
- Fast Company - The Most Influential Women in Technology
Women who have succeeded in technology deserve recognition: They are an inspiration for everyone, demonstrating what can be achieved through creativity and hard work.
- Associated Press - Lobbyists use inauguration to show their influence
WASHINGTON (AP) — The sushi was plentiful, the jazz ensemble loud and the guest list included just what the party-givers wanted: members of Congress, incoming Obama administration officials and celebrities.
- Washington Examiner - Faux transparency of the House economic stimulus bill
Democrats in the House are congratulating themselves for allegedly including historic levels of transparency and accountability in the $825 billion economic stimulus bill draft they released today. And indeed there are some definite steps forward in the draft, but a modestly close reading reveals that most of the "transparency" in this proposal is of the faux kind.
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Government spending data has long been publicly available but it's never been easier to find and interpret. That's thanks to USAspending.gov, a site created by the Federal Funding Accountability and Transparency Act of 2006 which was sponsored by Tom Coburn and Barack Obama. The Sunlight Foundation's Greg Elin explains what makes the site so revolutionary.
- Politico - Politico party guide: Scene and be seen
There are parties, and then there are parties. And in the next week, Washington will see plenty of both.
- Columbia Journalism Review - A See-Through Society
It may be a while before the people who run the U.S. House of Representatives’ Web service forget the week of September 29, 2008. That’s when the enormous public interest in the financial bailout legislation, coupled with unprecedented numbers of e-mails to House members, effectively crashed www.house.gov. On Tuesday of that week, a day after the House voted down the first version of the bailout bill, House administrators had to limit the number of incoming e-mails processed by the site’s “Write Your Representative” function. Demand for the text of the legislation was so intense that third-party sites that track Congress were also swamped. GovTrack.us, a private site that produces a user-friendly guide to congressional legislation, had to shut down. Its owner, Josh Tauberer, posted a message reading, “So many people are searching for the economic relief bill that GovTrack can’t handle it. Take a break and come back later when the world cools off.”
- New York Times - YouTube Teams With Congress to Show Lawmakers at Work
SAN FRANCISCO — YouTube is aiming to raise its profile in American politics by helping deliver a glimpse of life on Capitol Hill to its large online audience.
- Washington Times - Special interests prey on Inaugural
President-elect Barack Obama may want to keep "special interests" out of the White House, but he can't keep them out of Washington for his inauguration.
- Brian Leher Show - Republicans Favoring Increased Transparency for Obama Spending Bill
Senior fellow Bill Allison discusses with CUNY TV's Brian Leher Show the possibility of Obama's broad stimulus bill to be publicly accessible online a week before a vote and vested interest all politics parties have in more government transparency.
- Erie Times News - Dahlkemper makes debut in Congress
It's official. Sworn into office on Tuesday, Kathy Dahlkemper now represents the 3rd Congressional District.
- CQ Politics - Next Time, Seek Counsel from Within
The Federal Election Commission recently sought advice from outsiders about how the agency could better enforce campaign finance laws. But what it got was completely unexpected — some 200 letters questioning President-elect Obama’s citizenship and demanding an immediate audit of his campaign finances.
- Atlantic Monthly - iGov
Barack Obama has said we need a “Google for government.” It’s a nice line, but what does it mean? Federal agencies have been online since the mid-’90s. Obama’s first crack at a Google-for-government law led to USAspending.gov, a budget tracker that looked like everything else the feds had put up on the Web—until I saw one geek-speak phrase on the home page, so small I almost missed it: API Documentation. To understand its significance, let me tell you how I got subway schedules on my iPhone.
- CQ Weekly - New Congress Checks In
After finding their offices and their way around the Capitol, new members of the 111th Congress will surely turn to the question of the best venue for their first fundraisers.
- NJ Record - Capitol Games
YOU CAN argue about whether Congress ever gets anything done, but everyone can agree Congress sure talks a lot about getting things done.
- USA Today - 'Transparency' fixes seen in Congress' future
WASHINGTON — Paper piles up quickly at the Federal Election Commission, where employees thumb through campaign finance reports in quiet cubicles, keying numbers into a database.