With Americans saying that reducing federal corruption is now their second most important campaign issue, it's worth looking at how well a 2007 law designed to curb corruption is holding up.
Continue reading2Day in #OpenGov 8/8/2012
Policy Intern Adeeb Sahar wrote this post. Here is your serving of today’s transparency-related news items, congressional committee hearings, transparency-related... View Article
Continue readingHow to Count Regulations: A Primer for Regulatory Research
Data and Research Intern Alex Engler wrote this post. The regulatory process is a politically charged arena, where the perception of over-regulating, or not regulating enough, can become a political liability. Whether it’s Tom Donohue of the Chamber of Commerce warning of the oncoming “tsunami” of regulations from President Obama, or the National Resource Defense Council striking at the Bush administration for an “assault on our clean air protections,” there can be no doubt that the perceived level of regulation matters. However, one should look skeptically towards assertions about the degree of rulemaking, especially when those assertions include specific numbers. These claims are often based on research that can be structured so as to intentionally mislead. And beyond the political motivation in how one measures regulatory action, there are also many opportunities for genuine methodological error.
Continue readingStealthy Wealthy: To Robert Rowling, political giving makes business sense
Texas-based billionaire Robert Rowling has given a total of $6.8 million to American Crossroads, the super PAC that has run ads criticizing President Barack Obama for, among other things, bailing out and bankrolling private businesses with public money. Yet Rowling, seen at right, a member of the Forbes 400 list of the wealthiest Americans who inherited his fortune, hasn't been averse to seeking taxpayer assistance in his own business ventures. And he's been willing to use his private fortune to seek public dollars.
Though he's a less well-known name than mega donors like George Soros or ...
Continue readingMissouri primary: McCaskill and Democrats helped Republican Todd Akin to Senate nomination
Sen. Claire McCaskill, D-Mo., and Democratic outside groups, pouring in over $1 million during Missouri's Republican Senate primary, got the guy they wanted: Rep. Todd Akin, who Tuesday upset two other Republicans to take the GOP nomination.
Recent polls have shown McCaskill trailing all three Republicans in head-to-head matchups, but Akin has the smallest edge. She is betting voters will see the six-term congressman -- who gave "thanks to God our creator" in his victory speech and has been endorsed by former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, an evangelical Christian -- as too conservative.
Late in the primary, McCaskill hit TV and ...
Continue reading2Day in #OpenGov 8/7/2012
Policy Intern Adeeb Sahar wrote this post. Here is your serving of today’s transparency-related news items, congressional committee hearings, transparency-related... View Article
Continue readingThe Policy Team is Hiring
Are you interested in working towards a more transparent government? Do you want to put your skills to use in... View Article
Continue readingFirst light on dark money: Bloomberg gun control group discloses donors
When Mayors Against Illegal Guns Action Fund, New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg's vehicle for pushing for tighter gun control regulation, ran ads Sunday morning calling on President Barack Obama and his Republican opponent, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, to offer plans to reduce gun violence, they became the first dark money group to publicly disclose its donors.
Bloomberg's group, a social welfare organization set up under section 501(c)4 of the tax code, is the first to comply with a U.S. District Court ruling requiring such organizations, which normally keep their donors secret, to disclose them ...
Continue readingBank accused of Iran money laundering lobbies in US
Standard Chartered Bank, a British bank with a U.S. division that is suspected by the New York State Department of Financial Services of laundering $250 billion dollars to Iran, has been trying to influence U.S. policy through lobbying, but exactly what the bank is trying to accomplish remains vague.
So far this year, Standard Chartered Bank has spent $90,000 to hire mega-lobbying firm The Glover Park Group, according to Senate records. Complying with regulations, the Glover Park Group has filed lobbying reports quarterly.
Since 2000, records obtained from the Senate and Sunlight's Influence Explorer reveal, Standard ...
Continue readingWisconsin’s Ron Johnson defends gun ownership
Sen. Ron Johnson, a Wisconsin Republican whose state is the site of the nation's most recent deadly shooting spree, this time at a Sikh temple, has benefitted from more than $1.3 million from gun rights groups, far more than any other member of Wisconsin's congressional delegation.
Overall, gun rights groups and associated individuals, dominated by the National Rifle Association (NRA), have poured $1.6 million into campaigns involving members of the Wisconsin congressional delegation, according to a search on Influence Explorer. In contrast, gun control groups have spent $11,300 since 1989.
Tea party enthusiast Johnson won ...
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