Billionaire casino mogul Sheldon Adelson and his wife, Miriam, who have reportedly given a combined $10 million to Winning Our Future, the super PAC that supports and is run by former staffers of Republican presidential candidate Newt Gingrich, were drawn to him by a shared view of the importance of the U.S. relationship to Israel.
But a review of public records by Sunlight suggests that the couple, who appears to be the former House speaker's most generous political patrons pending the filing of Winning Our Future's first complete financial disclosures later this month with the Federal Election ...
Continue readingOnly a Smarter Congress Can Make Better Internet Policy
Recent calls for technologists to hire lobbyists to educate Washington on internet issues miss a significant part of the big... View Article
Continue readingTools for Transparency: URL Builder for Google Analytics
The Google Analytics URL Builder is a simple tool that helps you track traffic statistics for specific campaign related links. ... View Article
Continue reading2Day in #OpenGov 1/26/2012
Here is Thursday's look at transparency-related news items, congressional committee hearings, transparency-related bills introduced in Congress, and transparency-related events. News Roundup:
- Two years after a massive earthquake devastated Haiti, the country is still dealing with the ramifications of rampant corruption on the rebuilding process. Transparency International is working to fight this corruption. (Transparency International)
- A former Irish Senator, who became a poster boy for outrageous expense claims throughout the Irish political system, was arrested for allegedly forging receipts from a company that hasn't existed for almost 20 years. (AP/Yahoo)
- New Gingrich and Mitt Romney successfully maneuvered each other into disclosing potentially embarrassing documents. This doesn't necessarily mean that either candidate is committed to transparency in their campaigns or the government. (Fox News)
- Tensions between Hollywood and opponents of SOPA and PIPA in Washington don't seem to have hurt President Obama's ability to raise money from Tinseltown. The Obama Victory Fund is hosting several fundraisers to benefit the President's reelection campaign and the Democratic party in the coming weeks. (The Hill)
- House Democrats are expected to introduce an updated version of the DISCLOSE Act in coming days. The bill will include notable exceptions, originally aimed at placating the NRA, from its original iteration. (Huffington Post)
- Private interests spent freely in 2011 to send members of Congress and their staff on trips. 1,600 privately funded congressional trips were worth more than $5.8 million last year. (Legistorm)
- San Francisco is emerging as a leader in using city data to encourage programmers, activists, and companies to create solutions to make city governments more efficient and effective. (Tech President)
- Longstanding rules on the House press gallery are changing. Journalists are allowed to use laptop computers and smart phones on a trial basis. (Gov Fresh)
Legislative Data Conference Agenda Released
The House of Representatives has released an agenda for its all-day Legislative Data Conference, set for February 2nd. If you... View Article
Continue readingOn FIRE: How the Finance, Insurance and Real Estate Sector Drove the Growth of the Political One Percent of the One Percent
This piece was prepared in collaboration with Ethan Phelps-Goodman. In the last two decades, finance, insurance, and real estate have... View Article
Continue reading2Day in #OpenGov 1/25/2012
Here is Wednesday's look at transparency-related news items, congressional committee hearings, transparency-related bills introduced in Congress, and transparency-related events. News Roundup:
- Campaign finance rules and regimes differ around the world. The one constant? A lot of money gets spent on elections. (CNN/Transparency International)
- Canada is moving closer to joining the Open Government Partnership. Their Open Government consultation period closed on January 16 and a summary of findings is scheduled to be published in March. (Fierce Government)
- A former Lawyer for Newt Gingrich, who advised the politician on how to engage in advocacy without becoming a "lobbyist", is now the director of government affairs at the American Bar Association, which is trying to expand lobbying disclosure rules. (Roll Call $)
- The Justice department is losing two lawyers through the revolving door. Justin Shur, former deputy chief of the Public Integrity Section of the Criminal Division, joined MoloLamken as a partner. Meanwhile, Warren Rosborough, a former trial attorney with the Antitrust Division is joining McDermott Will & Emery as a partner. (The Hill)
- Watchdog group Public Campaign praised President Obama's proposal to ban lobbyists from bundling campaign donations, but noted that it does not go far enough. (National Journal)
- President Obama has voluntarily released the names of all his campaign bundlers, while Republican presidential candidates have disclosed only their bundlers who are also registered lobbyists. The information makes for a vivid visualization. (Open Secrets/Center for Responsive Politics)
- Petitions with over 100,000 signatures were submitted to the White House calling for the President to require that federal contractors disclose their political contributions. (Lobby Comply)
Close Lobbyist Reporting Loopholes First
Yesterday evening, John reacted to President Obama’s SOTU speech in which the President proposed a ban on lobbyists acting as bundlers.... View Article
Continue readingTransparency in the State of the Union
Tonight’s State of the Union Address raised even less transparency issues than we expected. (See the text at the end... View Article
Continue readingGOP lawmakers reopen fight over Keystone XL pipeline
As House Republicans reopen efforts Wednesday to win approval for the Keystone XL energy project, new lobbying records filed over the weekend reveal a lopsided spending battle over the controversial proposed pipeline.
The Keystone pipeline has become an emblematic fight for those who see the pipeline as a North American job creator versus those who see it as an environmental disaster.
Environmentalists have applied political pressure through protest, but their lobbying expenditures on the pipeline have been dwarfed by those of their opponents. Three environmental groups that mention Keystone in their lobbying reports -- National Wildlife Federation, League of Conservation Voters ...
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