Four members of Congress who have disclosed owning shares in Transcanada, the company trying to build the controversial Keystone XL pipeline, have pressed for the $7 billion project's approval.
The State Department took the lead in the approval process, and was supposed to rule last November on the project, which has been the subject of an intensive international lobbying campaign as well as a contentious split among supporters of President Barack Obama, who chose to delay a decision on authorizing construction until at least 2013.
While labor unions and energy companies support the project, environmentalists have objected to its ...
Continue reading2Day in #OpenGov 12/8/2011
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: Government
- White House officials, along with several members of Congress, are fighting to maintain the E-Gov fund's budget and ensure that sites such as Data.gov don't go dark. (Politico)
- Last night, at the first ever Congressional Hackathon, House Minority Whip Steny Hoyer (D-MD) argued that Thomas.gov should be contain more data that is easily accessible by social media and third party applications. (GovFresh)
- Rep. Darrell Issa (R-CA) and Senator Ron Wyden (D-OR) are expected to release alternative legislation to counter the Stop Online Privacy Act. SOPA is supported by traditional media groups and other copyright and trademark owners, but vehemently opposed by tech companies, venture capitalists, and privacy advocates. (National Journal)
- Some vulnerable centrist Democratic Senators may have trouble raising money and support from progressive groups. This could cause headaches for the Democratic party as they try to maintain control of the Senate. (Politico)
- This time of year America is focused on two things: Football and the holidays. Lawmakers are no different and several are hosting specially themed fundraisers. (National Journal)
- A new project, Chicago Lobbyists, helps visualize all interactions and activities between lobbyists and the city of Chicago. Its developer touts the site's potential to "inform and change people's perception of government and lobbyists". The city is cooperating with the project. (GovFresh)
- An federal district court judge has ruled that a blogger does not have the same protections, related to alleged defamatory statements, as a traditional journalist under Oregon law. The judge interpreted the law in question to exclude "internet blogs" from protected media. (techPresident)
Add Gingrich to the Long List of Stealth Lobbyists
Here’s a riddle: What do you call it when someone earns millions of dollars from corporate clients, uses his relationships... View Article
Continue readingThe Occupation of K Street: Lobbying, Citizens United and the need for reform
Earlier today, protestors from OccupyDC headed over to the offices of the Podesta Group, a high profile lobbying firm, before... View Article
Continue reading“Global Open Gov: What’s The Secret Sauce?” (Part 2)
In this second in a three-part series, guest blogger Matt Rosenberg continues to reflect on the Open Government Partnership Egypt,... View Article
Continue readingMeetings missing from CFTC website
A week before Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) commissioners unanimously approved new rules restricting how brokerage firms may invest customer funds, executives from Newedge, which had pushed against the rules along with the now bankrupt firm MF Global, attended several meetings with high ranking CFTC officials.
However, not all of these meetings were disclosed on the agency's official logs that track meetings of CFTC officials with outsiders on implementation of the Dodd-Frank financial law.
On November 28, the CEO and high level executives from Newedge, a global brokerage firm, attended two meetings at the CFTC, according to meeting log ...
Continue readingObama’s Open Government Directive, Two Years On
Tomorrow is the two year anniversary of the Open Government Directive (OGD), the signature transparency policy issued by the Obama administration... View Article
Continue reading2Day in #OpenGov 12/7/2011
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: Government
- Senators Claire McCaskill (D-MO) and Jim Webb (D-VA) are pushing the Non-Federal Employee Whistleblower Protection Act. The act, modeled after data transparency provisions in the 2009 recovery act, aims to extend whistleblower protections to federal contractors. (Government Executive)
- For the first time, Massachusetts will make hundreds of boxes of documents from Mitt Romney's tenure as governor available to the public. The move comes after it was revealed that Romney authorized the destruction of many electronic records at the end of his term. (Yahoo/AP)
- Azerbaijan is getting some support in Washington through a new nonprofit dedicating to supporting the country. The Azerbaijan American Alliance is set to provide a counter balance to the Armenian-American Lobby. The two countries have been clashing over disputed territory since the 1990's. (The Hill)
- The revolving door is spinning this week. Notably, the House Judiciary Committee is losing its deputy chief of staff to the National Music Publishers Association and a former general counsel for the DoD's Contract Audit Agency is joining Venable's government contracts practice. (The Hill)
- House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-VA) holds an annual Festivus fundraiser. This year, a group from Occupy Wall Street aired their grievances, a major component of the Seinfeld-popularized holiday, by protesting outside the fundraiser's venue. (National Journal)
- The Majority PAC, focused on elected Senate Democrats, intends to be a major piece of the 2012 puzzle. They have a big fundraiser scheduled, featuring more than 20 Senators as headliners. (Politico)
- The Los Angeles, CA City Council is scheduled to vote on a resolution calling for the US Congress to amend the constitution to declare that money does not equal speech. The resolution is in response to the Citizens United Supreme Court Decision. (Lobby Comply)
- The Washington, DC Council took a first vote on ethics reform legislation yesterday. The bill, which has faced significant criticism, will likely be amended before a final vote sometime before the new year. (DCist)
“Global Open Gov: What’s The Secret Sauce?”
Today’s guest blog is a three-part series from Matt Rosenberg. Matt is founder and editor of Public Data Ferret, a... View Article
Continue readingWho visited Jack Abramoff in Cumberland prison? We’ve FOIAed to find out
In his book Capitol Punishment: The Hard Truth about Washington Corruption from America's Most Notorious Lobbyist, Jack Abramoff notes that while serving his sentence for mail fraud and conspiracy in a federal prison in Cumberland, Md., he was fortunate that "some intrepid public officials [made] the trek to Cumberland, including Congressman Dana Rohrabacher, his wife Rhonda, and their adorable triplets..."
In an interview with The Hill, Abramoff was cagey on the subject of whether other members of Congress made similar treks: "I'm not saying they have or they haven't," he told the publication, adding that Rohrabacher is ...
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