Here is Tuesday's take on transparency-related news items, congressional committee hearings, transparency-related bills introduced in Congress, and transparency-related events. News Roundup:
- The collapse of SOPA and PIPA, after protest from the tech industry and general public last week, has opened the door for alternative legislation being proposed by Sen. Ron Wyden (D-OR) and Rep. Darrell Issa (R-CA). (The Hill)
- The White house announced a major addition to its data.gov efforts. Education.data.gov will target developers, teachers, and students. (Tech President)
- Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-IA) reported "questionable contact" by Harbinger Capital, a hedgefund invested heavily in controversial wireless start-up LightSquared, to the Senate Ethics Committee. Grassley viewed certain contact by the company as an attempt to discuss a quid pro quo. (The Hill)
- Strategic communications firm SKDKnickerbocker is bringing on some new employees direct from government service. Rachel Racusen was director of public affairs at FEMA while Noralisa Leo was an external affairs officer and deputy director at the Smithsonian. (National Journal)
- The Governor of New Mexico, Susana Martinez (R-NM), is endorsing legislative efforts to institute a two-year ban on lobbying for ex-lawmakers. (Lobby Comply)
- Google spent $3.76 million on lobbying in the fourth quarter of 2011 as it fought over online piracy laws and other major issues. The company easily outpaced its third quarter spending of $2.38 million. Throughout 2011 Google spent almost $10 million on lobbying, nearly twice the amount they spent in 2010. (AP/Yahoo)
- The U.S. Chamber of Commerce is organizing an online lobbying blitz centered around tonight's State of the Union address. The organization is urging its members and supporters to tweet the White House and Congress to "#getserious about #jobs". (Roll Call $)
- Lobbyists representing Egypt in Washington rapidly mobilized to provide the country with political cover after security forces raided 17 foreign-based NGO's at the end of 2011. The raids were condemned at high levels of the U.S. government. (Politico)
Despite Fed’s steps toward transparency, much remains opaque
In a bid to increase transparency, the Federal Reserve will for the first time make public the forecasts for benchmark interest rates that will inform discussions at tomorrow's meeting of the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC), which sets monetary policy for the nation. But despite this action, there is still plenty of opacity in how the Fed conducts business.
For starters, the Fed delays release of the actual transcripts of these meetings for five years. While the FOMC releases minutes of these meetings three weeks after the fact, the most recent full transcript currently available is for December 12 ...
Continue readingThe Senate’s Dodd Problem
MPAA head lobbyist Chris Dodd threatened Congress and the President last week, suggesting that lawmakers should remember that they’ve been... View Article
Continue readingGingrich not a Lobbyist? Time to Change the Definition
Bill Clinton famously tried to claim he hadn’t lied about his relationship Monica Lewinsky by saying, “It depends on what... View Article
Continue readingLooking to Obama’s State of the Union
Tonight, President Obama will deliver his fourth State of the Union address, and we’ll be watching to see how his... View Article
Continue readingPAC Profile: The Tea Party doesn’t need unlimited money to make a splash
It's hard to believe given this year's headlines, but not all of the political action committees making an impact on this year's campaign are super PACs.
While most of the attention has focused on the entities that can accept and spend unlimited money, the Campaign to Defeat Barack Obama, a traditional political action committee that's abiding by federal limits on contributions and spending, got plenty of attention when it launched an ad blitz before the Jan. 3 Iowa caucuses that accused GOP presidential contender Mitt Romney of being a covert liberal.
Ryan Gill, the Campaign to ...
Continue readingFreedom of Information in Minnesota (and 2012 proposals for change in the Minnesota law)
State Freedom of Information laws are in the limelight again. This time from Minnesota. The state’s proposed revision’s on FOIA... View Article
Continue reading2day in #OpenGov 1/23/2012
Here is the week's first look at transparency-related news items, congressional committee hearings, transparency-related bills introduced in Congress, and transparency-related events. News Roundup:
- The United Nations, the Inter-Parliamentary Union, and the US House of Representatives are organizing an event to promote and discuss the use of open document standards in parliaments and legislatures world-wide. (ICT Parliament)
- The Navarra region of Spain released a draft of their new law on Transparency and Open Government. Open government groups have applauded the law for setting "new standards for Spain and internationally." (Access Info)
- Newt Gingrich came out against the SOPA and PIPA legislation on Thursday. But, his comments don't match up with previous statements that he has made about online free speech. In 2006, Gingrich argued in favor of censoring the internet in cases involving Islamic radicals. (Politico)
- The Navy may have pressured the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry into withholding information related to water contamination at Camp Lejune. (POGO)
- According to year-end reports, some of Washington's biggest lobbying shops saw their revenues decline in 2011. Gridlock in Congress combined with still-shaky economic conditions caused businesses to allocate lobbying money carefully. (The Hill)
- Former Representative William Delahunt (D-MA) started his own lobbying firm shortly after retiring from congress. One of his first clients, the town of Hull Massachusetts, is paying his firm $15,000 per month to lobby for a project that he personally earmarked $1.7 million for when serving in Congress. (New York Times)
- Sen. Scott Brown (R-MA) and his likely Democratic opponent Elizabeth Warren reached a tentative agreement aimed at dissuading outside groups from flooding their race with money. (Politico)
- New federal rules allow traditional PACs and super PACs to operate under the same roof. These "hybrid" PACs can raise and spend unlimited outside money and give limited donations directly to campaigns and committees. Currently corporate and union PACs cannot become hybrids, but they are fighting for that power. (Politico)
Gabrielle Giffords leaves Congress with a big war chest
Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, D-Ariz., may be taking her name off her congressional office and the 2012 ballot, but that doesn't mean she can't be a player in a state that will be one of the top political battlegrounds this year.
The congresswoman's announcement that she will be giving up her House seat this week to focus on her recovery from a gunshot wound leaves her sitting on an impressive campaign fund, which she can save to relaunch her political career or bestow on other candidates and campaigns, a traditional way for politicians to stockpile goodwill.
Giffords, a ...
Watch it live: Will Super PACs Determine the 2012 Election?
If you can’t make it to Capitol Hill today for today’s Advisory Committee on Transparency event on Super PACs, don’t... View Article
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