Happy May! Here is Monday’s look at the week’s transparency-related news items, congressional committee hearings, transparency-related bills introduced in Congress, and transparency-related events.

News Roundup:

• The House Appropriations Committee is standing firm, telling legislators that they are uninterested in attempts to sidestep the earmark ban. (Roll Call $)
• The House Oversight and Government Reform committee is holding a hearing this week on the White House visitor logs. (The Hill)
• Congressmen who post ads on Facebook run the risk of violating franking laws that prohibit legislators from using official funds to send mass mailers outside of their district. (Roll Call $)
• For-profit colleges hire heavy weight lobbyists to fight against regulations that could put them out of business. (Roll Call $)
• American League of Lobbyists president Howard Marlowe said that the draft Executive Order requiring federal contractors to disclose their political contributions is a bad policy, “injecting politics into a process that should not involve politics.” (The Hill)
• TechPresident’s Nancy Scola writes that it seems “kinda odd that there isn’t much of a shame factor today in admitting that you’re intentionally skirting laws that are meant to lead to good government.” (TechPresident)

Relevant committee hearings scheduled for 5/2-5/6:

House

• Energy and Commerce. Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee. White House Visitor Log/Lobbyist Transparency. 10:30am.Tuesday 5/3. 2322 RHOB. (Featuring testimony from our own Policy Director, John Wonderlich!)
• Judiciary. Justice Department Oversight. 10:15am. Tuesday 5/3. 2141 RHOB.
• Oversight and Government Reform. Presidential Electronic Records Preservation. 9:30am. Tuesday 5/3. 2154 RHOB.
• Appropriations. Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies Subcommittee hearing. Office of Science and Technology Policy Budget. 10:00am. Wednesday 5/4. H-309 Capitol.
• Judiciary. Courts, Commercial, and Administrative Law Subcommittee hearing. 1:30pm. Wednesday 5/4. 2141 RHOB.
• Judiciary. Intellectual Property, Competition, and the Internet Subcommittee hearing. Internet’s Domain Name System Oversight. 10:00am. Wednesday 5/4. 2141 RHOB.

Senate

• Appropriations. Financial Services and General Government Subcommittee hearing. SEC/CFCT Budgets. 10:00am. Wednesday 5/4. 138 DSOB.
• Finance. Budget Enforcement Mechanisms. 10:00am. Wednesday 5/4. 215 DSOB.
• Judiciary. Justice Department Oversight. 10:00am. Wednesday 5/4. 226 DSOB.
• Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs. Duplication in the Federal Government. 2:30pm. Thursday 5/5. 342 DSOB.

Relevant bills introduced:

• None.

Transparency events scheduled for 5/2-5/6:

• Shadow Financial Regulatory Committee. American Enterprise Institute for Public Policy Research. Monday 5/2. 12:30-1:30pm. Wohlstetter Conference Center, Twelfth Floor. 1150 Seventeenth Street, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20036.
• Bridging the Digital Divide: Spectrum Policy, Program Diversity and Consumer Rights. Brookings Institute. Thursday 5/5. 10:00-11:30am. Saul/Zilkha Rooms. 1775 Massachusetts Ave., NW. Washington, DC.
• DoD Contractor Spending and the Supporting Contractor Base. Center for Strategic & International Studies. Friday 5/6. 10:00-11:30am. CSIS B1 Conference Center. 1800 K Street, N.W., Washington, D.C.