One year ago today, President Obama signed the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act into law. The legislative process that led to the bill's enactment proved to be a boon to lobbyists, including former aides to key members. Industry exerted influence on the administration and members of Congress from early on in the process, and continued lobbying after the bill was passed.
In 2009 and 2010, lobbyists for some 1,251 organizations disclosed lobbying on the bill, according to the Center for Responsive Politics. Those interests included pharmaceutical firms and their trade group, the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of ...
New federal insurance office has vast power to collect data
Over a year since the passage of the Dodd-Frank financial law, the new Federal Insurance Office, which has broad authority to collect data from the $934 billion industry, finally has a director.
Michael McRaith, the newly appointed head, is currently director of the Illinois Department of Insurance. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner announced the appointment last week.
While the insurance industry, which is regulated at the state level, largely escaped the reach of the new financial law. The one exception was the creation of the new office within the Treasury Department.
While not a regulatory body, the office will advise the ...
Continue readingNuclear Industry Lobbyists Battle Fallout From Japan Reactor Crisis
In his final State of the Union address President Jimmy Carter dedicated five paragraphs to a discussion of nuclear energy... View Article
Continue readingBudget Technopocalypse: Proposed Congressional Budgets Slash Funding for Data Transparency
Data.gov, USASpending.gov, and other Obama tech innovations face virtual extinction if the FY 2011 budget bill passed by the House... View Article
Continue readingSunrise (3/23/11)
DEMS RAISE $$ FROM LABOR —Sunlight: “As governors and legislators in many states attempt to curb public sector union benefits,... View Article
Continue readingCongressional office spending by district
Earlier we reported on Congressional office spending. It's one thing to see a list of the top spenders, but it's something else to see that spending mapped according to congressional districts. So that's just what we've done here. Below is a map of 434 congressional districts (we have no data for New Mexico's 3rd district), color coded according to spending. Take a look for yourself (the darker the color, the more the member spent):
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Bahrain’s PR Team
As winter has turned to a democratic spring in the Arab world, the Kingdom of Bahrain has found itself swept... View Article
Continue readingSan Francisco Leads Lobbying Disclosure
When it comes to tracking meetings between lobbyists and legislators, San Francisco has taken impressive steps toward online disclosure. Lobbyists... View Article
Continue readingU.S. PIRG’s State Spending Transparency Scorecard
Last week the U.S. Public Interest Research Group published a transparency scorecard for every state in the country that assessed their ability to publish their spending online.
Continue readingSunrise (3/22/11)
AT&T, T-MOBILE DEAL MEANS BIG LOBBYING SPENDING —Adweek: “AT&T knows it’s likely to get regulators to clear its proposed $39... View Article
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