Even in an "off" election year, groups on both sides of the gun debate spent millions to influence public opinion, and some have stockpiled big warchests for 2014.
Continue readingHired guns: K Street revolvers shot blanks against NRA artillery
Gun control groups made a big investment in professional lobbyists after the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting but even the K Street top guns were no match for the National Rifle Association.
Continue readingHappy Thankgiving! How does campaign cash affect the food on your plate?
Thanksgiving is nearly upon us, with President Barack Obama scheduled to deliver the annual stay of execution for the National Thanksgiving Turkey on Wednesday. But on Capitol Hill, there's less goodwill: An end to the impasse on the farm bill is not in sight. Last year at this time we reported that Congress had let the massive bill that governs farm programs as well as food programs for the needy expired months before the holiday; this year is much the same, with little hope of the lawmakers -- who are off on their own holiday recess -- coming to agreement come ...
Bakers group happy to win exemption from food safety law
The American Bakers Association is congratulating the Food and Drug Administration for granting its members an exemption to new food safety rules -- an exemption the trade association has lobbied long and hard to get. It's a case study of how powerful interests lay the groundwork for regulatory wins.
Continue readingBrady Campaign marks anniversary with ad
As Sarah Brady appears Tuesday at the National Press Club to mark the upcoming 20th anniversary of the gun background check law that bears her husband's name, the Brady Campaign to End Gun Violence is urging Congress to "finish the job" by expanding background checks to apply to all gun sales.
In a one-minute cartoon style ad, narrated in a lisping, child-like voice, the Brady Campaign -- which Sarah Brady chairs -- asks whether Congress' refusal to extend background checks is a sign that lawmakers are "rooting for the bad guys." Last spring, the Senate voted down a bill to expand ...
Continue readingSmall farmers lodge complaints about food safety law
With the November 15 deadline looming for comments on two key food safety regulations, organizations representing organic and small farmers are urging members to write in and criticize them. Some interests didn't wait until the last minute: the proposed rules have already received a slew of comments, according to analysis of proposed rules using Sunlight's Docket Wrench tool.
At issue for the sustainable agriculture crowd is how and whether the new rules apply to small farming and processing operations. The Food Safety Modernization Act, which authorized the regulations, included an exemption for the small operators thanks to an ...
Continue readingFirst Lady enlists muppets, corporate interests in food fight
When First Lady Michelle Obama makes an announcement today about marketing healthier foods to children, she'll be accompanied by the popular Sesame Street characters Elmo and Rosita--and the less well known, albeit more powerful, representatives of the Produce Marketing Association, a trade group, and Partnership for a Healthier America, a nonprofit founded by Obama herself, which has strong corporate support.
The announcement comes on the heels of an industry summit and major speech Obama gave in late September, in which the first lady made her strongest statement in recent years about advertising practices aimed at children. "You know that ...
Continue readingDespite Bloomberg funded ad campaign, Nevada’s Sandoval vetoed gun bill
In Nevada, where a school shooting school shooting today left two dead--including the shooter--and two injured, the governor vetoed a bill last June that would have strengthened background check laws.
Gov. Brian Sandoval, a Republican, rejected the measure despite an advertising blitz by the pro gun control group funded largely by New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, Mayors Against Illegal Guns.
The pro-gun control group advertised early and often Las Vegas this year, according to a search on Political Ad Sleuth, the Sunlight tool that tracks spending on political ads. Ads began in March and the most recent one aired ...
Continue readingTo battle tax, medical device industry turns to D.C. insiders
As the country hurtles toward financial default and the government shutdown enters it's 16th day, one of the crucial elements surfacing in various GOP proposals to end the stalemate is a repeal of the medical device tax, passed as part of the Affordable Care Act. While the industry was not powerful enough to keep the tax out of Obamacare, it has waged a strong campaign since to win a repeal, employing Washington lobbyists-for-hire with deep Washington contacts. Meet some of these lobbyists via our Influence Explorer and Party Time tools.
Tarplin, Downs & Young. Cofounded in 2006 by a trio ...
Continue readingMortgages, health care and animals: What won’t get governed during shutdown
With the federal government in shutdown mode, so is one of its main products: rule writing. Federal bureacrats who develop the regulations to implement major laws--from the Dodd Frank financial reform law to food safety standards to the Affordable Care Act itself--are out on furlough. This prospect may not bother many on the Republican side of the aisle, where regulations are not particularly popular anyway and efforts to roll them back are common. But many of these rules affect the very fabric of daily life.
This list illustrates some of the issues that are important to many Americans and that will be on hold until the budget impasse is resolved. It's by no means exhaustive, and the devil is often in the details when it comes to regulation writing. Dig in to the list and click around to read agency proposals and comments submitted about these proposals, or do your own searches on Docket Wrench.
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