On Saturday, The Dallas Morning News ran an op-ed from Sen. Joe Lieberman in which he called on President Bush to make all documents public regarding his presidential library. This followed President Bush's press conference on Feb. 28 where he discussed his planned $200-million-plus library in Dallas on the campus of Southern Methodist University, saying that he would accept donations from foreign sources and that if donors wanted their names kept confidential he would consider that request, according to The New York Times.
Fundraising for presidential libraries continues to be a blind spot when it comes to disclosure. Unlike contributions to an electoral campaign, gifts to the libraries are unlimited and undisclosed, and they can receive money from corporations and foreign governments. As Think Progress reports, Bush-the-Elder accepted large donations from foreign governmental figures, including a donation that is believed to be in excess of $1 million from the United Arab Emirates. A presidential pardon for a six-figure contributor to Bill Clinton's library and political campaigns left the indelible impression with many that a presidential pardon was purchased, according to 2007 congressional testimony of colleague Sheila Krumholz, director of the Center for Responsive Politics.
Good for Lieberman for calling out Bush.
Openness and transparency in the way government does business is not a passing fancy for Lieberman. He was the lead sponsor of the E Government Act of 2002 and is the sponsor of the proposed E-Government Reauthorization Act of 2007.
Continue readingCase Study. Why Transparency is a Good Thing
The Associated Press reported that the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee will investigate how a huge loophole in federal overseas contracting was slipped into regulations being drafted to limit waste and fraud in government-funded projects. The regulations, when enacted, will require contractors to establish and maintain specific internal controls to detect and prevent improper conduct in connection with a government contract. The loophole would specifically exempt contracts performed entirely outside the U.S.
According to the report, the Committee will "look at whether the exemption was added at the request of private firms, or their lobbyists, to escape having to report abuse in U.S. contracts performed abroad."
It's a good question, but, as long as we are on the subject of waste, we would suggest a simple fix that could lead directly to an answer, without spending taxpayer dollars on document reviews, staff interviews, subpoenas, hearings and testimony stemming from an investigation. If Congress had enacted H.R. 984, Congressman Waxman's Executive Branch Reform Act, a few keystrokes on a computer might provide us with an answer as to whether a firm or lobbyist requested the exemption.
Instant Analysis from MAPLight.org
The House of Representatives passed the Paul Wellstone Mental Health and Addiction Equity Act of 2007 (H.R. 1424) yesterday, a bill that would require group health insurance plans to cover mental health and substance-abuse cases just like other medical issues, a significant change over the current system. And thanks to MAPLight.org, the brilliant money-fand-votes tracker (and Sunlight grantee), we have a much better view of how the various interests attempt to influence legislative outcomes.
MAPLight.org analyzed the giving of those groups in real time, releasing immediately after the vote their analysis. (I'm just delayed in posting!) They found that those "interested" in the legislation, both pro and con, gave over $8,000 more to the individual legislators who voted the way they wanted them to. A press release from Maplight.org gives more detail:
Opponents--such as Accident and Health Insurance, Big Business, Chambers of Commerce, Restaurant and Manufacturing, Retail and Wholesale Trade gave an average of $22,693 to legislators who voted No on this bill, compared to $14,183 to legislators who voted Yes. The disparity is 160% more money given to a No vote.
Supporters--such as Health and Welfare, Mental Health care-givers, Mental Health Services, Clergy and Non-profit--gave an average of $4,242 to legislators who voted Yes on this bill, compared to $1,812 to legislators who voted No. The disparity is 234% more money given to a Yes vote, or $2,430.
MAPLight.org looks at correlations between campaign contributions and legislation, giving citizens key information to allow them to "draw their own conclusions about how campaign contributions affect policy," Dan Newman, MAPLight.org's director, said in the release.
Continue readingA SuperDelegate Widget
Check out the SuperDelegate Widget over at Congresspedia.
Another Week, Another Lobbying Update
From the Center for Responsive Politics. Year-end lobbying reports for 2007 are still trickling out from the Senate Office of Public Records. The total spent on federal lobbying last year is now up to $2.3 billion, but we know there are still reports that haven't been made available electronically yet. Based on the 2006 total, the missing data for '07 could total $300 million or more. We'll update OpenSecrets.org's Lobbying Database again next week with any new data.
Continue readingNew Lobbyist Disclosure Rules Under Attack
Last Friday, Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) filed an amicus brief in support of the disclosure requirements of the Honest Leadership and Open Government Act of 2007 (HLOGA), joining the Campaign Legal Center, Democracy 21 and Public Citizen in defending the disclosure provisions. All were in response to the National Association of Manufacturers who earlier in February had filed suit in federal court challenging the disclosure provisions and saying they are "vague, overbroad and burdensome" and were in violation of the First Amendment.
HLOGA requires any organization actively participating "in the planning, supervision, or control" of lobbying efforts that ponies up more than $5,000 in a quarter to disclose their activities and expenditures. The law's purpose is to shine a light on stealth lobbying and sham coalitions, pushing legislation such as those that are often promoted by groups like NAM. The law's criminal penalties on groups that fail to accurately disclose their lobby efforts succeeded at getting their attention. NAM says that the clause in question is imprecise and impacts groups that it is not intended to target. They fear the law will also require it to disclose the names of its members. NAM has requested the court issue a preliminary injunction on the disclosure rules until the court decides the case.
Continue readingFile This Under “Cool”
At Wired magazine, Tim McKeough has pulled together a fascinating and beautiful slide show he titled "Frame that Spam! Data-Crunching Artists Transform the World of Information" where he displays the works of a new crop of data-crunching "artists" who are using data the same way "Picasso applied paint." The artists used blog posts, traffic patterns, government reports digital video, and email to transform "the world of information into mesmerizing abstractions."
These pieces of art and graphic design are amazingly beautiful, but they aren't just "eye candy," as McKeough writes. The artists used census data, NASA images, and even human emotion samples from the blogosphere to display the information in an interactive and insightful manner. And it's only the beginning of what the Web 2.0 revolution will do with information as it evolves.
Continue readingLocal Sunlight
This week I have highlights from Oregon, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, New Jersey and New York.
Lawrence Lessig Featured in Sunshine Week Lecture
Larry Lessig, renowned expert in intellectual property and Sunlight Advisory Board member, will launch his new "Change Congress" project in a Sunshine Week lecture on March 20. In this lecture -- sponsored by Sunlight and Omidyar Network -- Lessig will describe his decision to focus his academic interests on the issue of the systemic corruption of American democracy. He will explore the ways in which our democracy is threatened by corruption and ways we, as citizens, can respond.
The event will be held at the National Press Club from 1:30 to 3 PM on March 20th, in Murrow White and Lisagor Rooms and it will be Webcast.
Space is limited so RSVP soon.
New Iraq FARA filings
The day after President Bush vetoed the 2008 Defense Appropriations Act, mainly because he objected to a section relating to Iraq, a little known New Jersey law firm filed lobbying disclosure forms on behalf of the Iraqi government requesting ...Presidential action to preclude Section 1083 from becoming law as to Iraq," documents show. The firm, Maggs & McDermott LLC, filed registration forms with the Department of Justice under the Foreign Agents Registration Act on Dec. 29, 2007.
The new Iraqi government was afraid that those harmed by the previous regime, including prisoners of war from the first Gulf War or people ...
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