by Justin Lin, policy intern NEWS:
- Senator Ron Wyden (D-OR) has called the FISA (Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act) "anachronistic" and favors comprehensive reform on the issue. The senator expressed grave concerns over the potential that the government has in tracking people's cellphones but could not elaborate, since he is not allowed to disclose information he received as part of the intelligence panel. (Washington Post)
- How secure are the House's information technology systems? According to a memo by two systems administrators, there are many potential points of entry to very sensitive information through a variety of different ways, including finding passwords of representatives' networks or by accessing the Wireless Access Points (WAPs) that are present in obvious yet often private locations. (Roll Call)
- The House Ethics committee is reviewing four members, Michele Bachmann, Peter Roskam, Timothy Bishop, and John Tierney for misconduct relating to campaign finance. Three of the four have disputed the claims by the ethics committee, and the committee is quick to point out that it has not reached any conclusion as of yet. (Roll Call)
- President Barack Obama has narrowed the list of potential nominees for Federal Reserve Chairman, and the main figures that it seems he is considering are Lawrence Summers and Janet Yellen. President Obama recently attended a party for Summers's birthday but Summers is a figure disliked by both Democrats and Republicans, making the situation much more complicated. (Bloomberg)
- The Senate's blank-slate approach to tax reform has been leading to senators proposing new tax breaks. The secret process involved with submitting tax reform proposals has essentially allowed the senators to propose tax breaks for certain industries without any political cost, a process Majority Leader Reid has refused to involve himself. Republicans and Democrats still disagree on whether this tax reform should be deficit neutral or should raise some revenue. (National Journal)
Regulating Money in Politics a Global Shortcoming
Open government advocates around the world (including Sunlight) are thrilled to see how more and more governments commit themselves to openness. Unfortunately, a vital piece of the transparency agenda--party and campaign funding--remain depressingly opaque. Because the financing behind how candidates and parties come to power influence later policy and spending decisions, it is critical that countries address political finance transparency. Sunlight is committed to create a strong base for reform by combining our efforts with other activists and sharing our expertise in a meaningful way.
Continue readingPolitical ad watch: Now starring Steve King
Rep. Steve King has a starring role in a Democratic ad blitz that seeks to hang the Iowa Republican's latest controversial remarks about immigrants around the necks of Republicans trying to appeal to constituencies with heavily Hispanic votes.
The political powerhouse labor union SEIU has just released a Spanish-language ad that targets seven Republican House members, challenging them to say whether they agree with comments that "insult our families" or support legislation that would provide millions of immigrants now living illegally in the United States with a pathway to citizenship. Sunlight spotted the new campaign on Ad Hawk, our ...
Continue readingAnti-super PAC super PAC gets big money from Silicon Valley
Friends of Democracy, the hybrid super PAC founded by the son of George Soros that wants to spend millions of dollars to take money out of politics, raked in about $1.8 million in the first half of this year, with six-figure contributions from Silicon Valley venture capitalist Sean Parker and Google engineer Matt Cutts.
Continue reading90 Percent of Business Execs Support Transparency Reforms for Money-in-Politics
Good news for making the case for campaign finance transparency! The Committee for Economic Development, a nonpartisan business-oriented public policy nonprofit, released an illuminating report and survey of business leaders this week that shows large majorities of American business executives agree the campaign finance system is in need of complete overhaul, with 90 percent of survey respondents supporting reforms that disclose all individual, corporate and labor contributions to political committees.
2Day in #OpenGov 7/26/2013
by Justin Lin, policy intern NEWS: Campaigning before the actual campaign? Governor Chris Christie of New Jersey is criticizing those,... View Article
Continue readingOpenGov Voices: Improve voter experience in NYC — Come to the Voting Information Project Hackathon!
Disclaimer: The opinions expressed by the guest blogger and those providing comments are theirs alone and do not reflect the opinions of the Sunlight Foundation or any employee thereof. Sunlight Foundation is not responsible for the accuracy of any of the information within the guest blog.
Jared Marcotte is a manager for The Pew Charitable Trusts Election Initiatives. Recently, as a senior engineer at the New Organizing Institute, Jared worked on the Voting Information Project -- a collaboration with state and local officials, Google, Microsoft and Pew to develop and populate an open API and database of election-related information for all 50 states. Jared is also an interface and interaction designer and has worked on the Election Protection Coalition’s Our Vote Live and KCET.org.
Casting a vote is the most basic way we participate in our democracy, and effective election systems are fundamental to that participation. But in many cases, finding the information you need to cast your ballot – where your polling place is, what’s on your ballot, and what you need to bring with you – is not as simple as it should be. The Pew Charitable Trusts’ Voting Information Project (VIP) works to improve the voter experience by providing up-to-date election information where voters are most likely to look for it - online. Like everything else today, when people want information the web is the first place they look. VIP brings election information directly to the voter by allowing states to expose official election data such as polling locations, registration deadlines, and ballot information on various mediums and platforms like the web and mobile.
Modern voters expect online tools to help them cast an informed vote, and VIP is here to provide new platforms to enhance their experience. On August 2-3 we are hosting our first-ever New York City hackathon at AlleyNYC in midtown Manhattan. The event will bring together 150 developers, designers, and usability experts to generate socially innovative applications that can improve the voting experience in New York City for the 2013 primary and general elections, including the mayoral race.
We’ll be capping the registration at 150 so register today!
City Finances Were A Story Before Detroit’s Bankruptcy
The news is indeed big and deserving of attention: As of last week, Detroit is now the largest U.S. municipality to file for bankruptcy.
The news, however, is perhaps not as shocking as some would portray it. While national publications have only recently jumped on the story, Detroit's local media have long been keeping the public informed about the city's finances and the series of events that eventually led to filing for bankruptcy.
Accessing public records -- including details about the city's financial data, contracts, and many other datasets -- has enabled the media to shine a light over the years on the city's fiscal challenges. Outlets like Detroit Free Press, The Detroit News, Fox 2 News, and many others were on this story long before the news of bankruptcy woke up the media giants: capturing critical moments like when the city realized it was close to running out of cash in 2011 and press conferences by Detroit leaders in 2012 that described how allowing state intervention could help prevent bankruptcy. Continued coverage from the local media kept residents informed about what was happening, what events and politics had led Detroit to this situation, and what could come next. The potential of bankruptcy was no surprise to those who followed the process of state intervention in the city's finances.
With a population of more than 700,000 people, Detroit is now the largest U.S. city to file for bankruptcy, but it is by no means the first large city to do so. Cities like Stockton (population: 296,000), Vallejo (population: 117,000), and San Bernardino (population: 213,000) have been there, too, and the stories out of those cities can help show what to watch for in Detroit. (And, if San Bernardino is any example, other cities can show some of the particular challenges to financial information disclosure that may appear during bankruptcy proceedings.)
No two places provide an exact apples to apples comparison, however. Each city has its own history, process, and paper trail -- and each needs an experienced scout to know how to traverse the political landscape and to help the public do the same. That's why it's so important to have access to public records (the key to understanding our political past and present) and to have watchdogs who use them to review the political process and show those in power that they will be held accountable for their actions.
Continue readingFEC puts off enforcement fight
The Federal Election Commission demonstrated a rare burst of productivity Thursday, when commissioners settled one major issue, investigated another, but put off a brewing fight over how it conducts investigations for another day.
The Republican and Democratic commissioners had no trouble giving the green light to requests brought by two separate committees to treat same-sex married donors the same as opposite-sex donors. Married donors can jointly contribute $10,400 to a candidate, even if only spouse earns income. The move was expected after the Supreme Court's reversal of the Defense of Marriage Act.
The commissioners were also unified in ...
Continue readingThe Sunlight Foundation’s Comments on the FAA’s Proposed Open Data Policy
On May 1, The Federal Aviation Administration published a [Proposed Open Data Policy](https://www.federalregister.gov/articles/2013/05/01/2013-10295/notice-for-data-and-information-distribution-policy) in the Federal Register, and requested public comment by [July 28](https://www.federalregister.gov/articles/2013/06/03/2013-13086/notice-of-proposal-policy-for-distribution-of-faa-data-and-information-extension-of-comment-period). The FAA proposed 10 broad guidelines for its open data policies, among them points about non-exclusivity of access to data, the appropriateness of employing cost recovery from external entities, and the transparency with which they execute on the policy itself.
The Sunlight Foundation had something to say about each of these issues, and so we submitted the public comment below, which we hand-delivered today to the FAA's Docket Office inside the Department of Transportation. Our comment should show up on [Docket Wrench](http://docketwrench.sunlightfoundation.com/docket/FAA-2013-0392) and [Regulations.gov](http://www.regulations.gov/#!docketBrowser;rpp=100;so=DESC;sb=docId;po=0;dct=PS;D=FAA-2013-0392) before long. In the mean time, read what we submitted:
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