As stated in the note from the Sunlight Foundation′s Board Chair, as of September 2020 the Sunlight Foundation is no longer active. This site is maintained as a static archive only.

Sunlight Foundation

Follow Us

Did AT&T rent out sprawling eatery to influence lawmakers all week?

by

TAMPA -- When Tampa Bay Online reported a few weeks back that a lobbyist rented out a sprawling, upscale restaurant for the whole week of the Republican National Convention, they provided a host of details about the restaurant, the big tabs that the GOP high rollers would run up there from early breakfasts to late hour sessions, even the fact that the lobbyist had run the same kind of insiders dining club at the last three Republican conventions. But they were unable to find out the lobbyist's name, or who he worked for.

That mystery has yet to be solved ...

Continue reading

Back to school: Privatizers turn to big screen to push charters, trigger laws

by

As school starts up, it seems a good time to take a look at the a well-financed political tussle for control of the blackboards and soon-to-be bustling halls. It's a battle that pits upstart entrepreneurs and big-name philanthropists against the well-oiled political machines of the nation's leading teacher's unions, the National Education Association and the American Federation of Teachers.

The battle has been fought in Congress and state legislatures. More recently, it has gone Hollywood. 

Conservative bankrollers Rupert Murdoch and Philip Anschutz have teamed up to produce "Won't Back Down," a film that presents the inspiring ...

Continue reading

Do House freshmen speak differently?

by

Prices. Mother. Bless. Soldiers. Borrowing. Corporate. Abortion. Seniors.

What do these words have in common? They are all significantly more prominent in the speech of congressional freshmen than in overall speech patterns of House members, based on a new Sunlight Foundation analysis of the Congressional Record.

Transportation. Cosponsor. International. Order. Public. Intelligence. Human. Respect.

What do these words have in common? You guessed it. They are all significantly less prominent in the speech of congressional freshmen.

In general, there’s not a whole lot of difference in how the freshmen speak compared to their more senior colleagues. But certain words ...

Continue reading

Oops! What House freshmen deleted from Twitter

by

Like other Twitter users, members of Congress delete and revise their tweets. Unlike most Twitter users, however, lawmakers maintain official accounts -- a use of taxpayer resources -- which is why the Sunlight Foundation considers them fair game to monitor for Politwoops, our database of deleted tweets by elected officials, launched earlier this year.

Freshman may be new to Congress, but they seem seasoned when it comes to social media skills. Based on our sample of congressional Twitter behavior so far, new members, who make up 20 percent of the 112th Congress, are sending out 19 percent of the tweets. On the ...

Continue reading

CFC (Combined Federal Campaign) Today 59063

Charity Navigator