2Day in #OpenGov 11/2/12

by

NEWS ROUNDUP:

Government
  • Questions raised after CRS report pulled: Democrats are raising questions about why a nonpartisan Congressional Research Service (CRS) report was pulled after some objections from Republicans. The report found no correlation between top tax rates and economic growth, an issue that has been debated along partisan lines. (New York Times)
  • Office of Congressional Ethics forwarded three names: The Office of Congressional Ethics forwarded the names of three people for further investigation by the House Ethics Committee last quarter, according to a report released this week. The names are not released in the report. (The Hill)
  • Hurricane maps available thanks to gov data: Detailed maps with information about Hurricane Sandy were thanks in part to the government data made available to the public and third-party developers. (TechCrunch)
Campaign finance
  • The $6 billion election? The Center for Responsive Politics is predicting the total cost of the election this year will exceed $6 billion. That estimate is fueled by the large and increasing amount of spending by outside groups. (Roll Call)
  • How to spend $300 million: President Barack Obama and Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney have some $300 million left in their campaign coffers, and with less than a week before the election the question is how they will choose to spend the money.  (Washington Post)
  • Wealthy donors swoop in: Wealthy donors are contributing last-minute money to Democrats and Republicans in competitive House races.  (New York Times)
  • Reform group buys silent ad: A group advocating for campaign finance reform, unPAC.org, bought a (mostly) silent 60-second ad in Ohio, a key battleground state. The money for the ad was crowdfunded. (Politico)
Campaign season
  • Election monitors kept away from some U.S. polls: International election monitors are voicing concerns after being told to keep away from polls in some states. The Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE), a group that includes the United States, plans to have elections monitors throughout the country on Nov. 6. (Politico)
Transparency world news
  • Open Government Partnership names new executive director: Linda Frey has been named the new executive directer at the Open Government Partnership (OGP). Frey was most recently at the Hewlett Foundation  working on the Global Development and Population Program. (Opening Parliament)

RELEVANT BILLS INTRODUCED:

  • None

HAPPENING TODAY 11/2: 

  • None.

JOB OPPORTUNITIES:

  • None. 

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