Katy Schultz : Sunlight Foundation

Sunlight Live team to cover GOP national security debate

by Katy Schultz

investigations

Nov 21, 2011 3:32 pm

The Republican Presidential candidates will meet this Tuesday in the nation’s capital to debate national security, just as they did in South Carolina just two weeks ago. Tuesday's debate will be hosted by CNN and sponsored by the Heritage Foundation and the American Enterprise Institute and the Sunlight Live team will cover it.

Over the course of October and November, Herman Cain, the former CEO of Godfather’s Pizza, saw a peak in his poll numbers. During the week of Oct. 21, Cain polled at 26 percent, but has since been slipping. The one-time poll leader is now ...

Sunlight Live Team to Cover “Super Committee” Discussion of Simpson-Bowles and Previous Debt Proposals

by Katy Schultz

investigations

Oct 31, 2011 12:00 am

The so-called super committee will meet in public tomorrow for only the fourth time, when it looks at recent efforts to reduce the debt in a session titled “Overview of Previous Debt Proposals."

And the Sunlight Live team will bring you the events as it unravels in the hearing room and provide context to the discussion.

Key witnesses include Alan Simpson, former Republican Senator from Wyoming, and Erskine Bowles, a businessman and former White House Chief of Staff during the Clinton Administration. They served as co-chairs on the National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform. President Obama appointed the two ...

Sunlight Live Team Prepares for Oct 11 Debate

by Katy Schultz

investigations

Oct 7, 2011 12:00 am

Tuesday, Oct. 11, will mark the 9th Republican presidential debate, two weeks after a string of debates in Florida, California and South Carolina. Sponsored by Bloomberg News and the Washington Post, this next matchup of Republican rivals will take place at Dartmouth University in New Hampshire. The Sunlight Live team will once again provide a live video feed, as well as real-time analysis, fact checking and context to help keep viewers informed.

The organizers say this debate will specifically address fears about the economy, jobs and a possible double-dip global recession.

Since the last debate, held Sept. 22 in Florida ...

Fourth “Supercommittee” Meeting to Review Tax Code

by Katy Schultz

investigations

Sep 21, 2011 10:48 am

Thursday morning the Super Committee will convene for the fourth time since its creation in response to the debt crisis over the summer. The committee, officially named the Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction, conducted a breakfast meeting behind closed doors Sept. 15, despite the insistence of transparency by government watchdog groups and fellow legislators. Sen. Dean Heller, R-Nev., released a statement expressing his disappointment regarding the private breakfast.

At the last open meeting, Congressional Budget Office (CBO) Director, Doug Elmendorf administered a dose of reality to members when answering their questions. Elmendorf stated that in order for the CBO ...

Sunlight Live to cover Super Committee meeting on Tuesday

by Katy Schultz

investigations

Sep 12, 2011 12:18 pm

On Tuesday morning, the Sunlight Live team will cover the second meeting of the Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction providing viewers not only with context, fact checking and background but also live updates and pictures from the super committee meeting.

The upcoming meeting is poised to be more significant than the first one, with the Director of the Congressional Budget Office, Doug Elmendorf, testifying. In their statements last week, many legislators urged compromise and bipartisanship. However, one member Sen. Jon Kyl, R-Ariz., threatened to abandon his post if more military spending cuts are proposed.

The super committee first met ...

Sunlight Live to cover first “Supercommittee” hearing

by Katy Schultz

investigations

Sep 7, 2011 12:00 pm

After a quick summer recess, Congress returned this week with the newly formed “Supercommittee” scheduled to hold its first debt reduction meeting this Thursday at 10:30 a.m. EST. Unlike the debt negotiations held earlier this summer, the Supercommittee meetings will be conducted openly and we’ll be there to provide live fact checking, context and analysis so you can better understand the tanlged web of money and politics and how it relates to these meetings.

Although it is not yet known if the first hearing will be televised of livestreamed online, we will have reporters in the room ...

Lobbyist cash flows to Warner, possible Super Committee member

by Katy Schultz

investigations

Aug 9, 2011 3:15 pm

Creation of the “super committee” has been met with mixed reactions in Congress. While several members have called for its immediate repeal, others have balked at the idea of serving on it. Sen. Mark Warner, D-Va., however, has said he would “love” to serve on the bicameral, bipartisan committee charged with addressing the country's debt problems.

Warner, former governor of Virginia, was elected to the U.S. Senate in 2008, and during the short time in the upper chamber has demonstrated an impressive fundraising ability. In all, he has brought in more than $27 million, of which more than ...

D.C. insider, Sen. Portman, another possible pick for “Super Congress”

by Katy Schultz

investigations

Aug 5, 2011 5:04 pm

Sen. Robert Portman’s, R-Ohio, name is making the rounds as a contender to serve on the “super committee”, and with his prior stints at top federal agencies and with big name lobbying firms, his ties to industry interests runs deep.

Portman serves on the budget, armed services, energy and natural resources, and homeland security committees, all of which are are slated for some major cuts. He has received $4 million in contributions from the financial services and real estate sector and another $1.8 million has come from lobbyists and lawyers. Another prominent contributor to Portman in recent years ...

Sunlight Live bets it all with casino hearing

by Katy Schultz

investigations

Jul 26, 2011 2:18 pm

This Thursday, when the U.S. Senate Committee on Indian Affairs examines the National Indian Gaming Commission, Sunlight Live will be on hand to show the connections between the committee members and the industry it oversees. The committee's members have received thousands, and in the case of Sen. John McCain, R- Ariz., millions of dollars in campaign contributions from the casino and gaming industry, and drawn interest from the Native American tribes many of the committee's members represent. During the hearing, we'll work to untangle the strings that tie legislators, witnesses and special interests in real time ...