Transportation's Inspector General has launched an investigation of the Transportation Technology Innovation and Demonstration program--at the request of a pair of members of Congress, Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, and Rep. Anthony Weiner, D-N.Y.--to determine whether the program, as administered by the Federal Highway Administration, fulfilled the goals set for it by Congress and whether FHWA met competitive procurement requirements that "intended to expand the number of firms providing surveillance services."
A brief announcement is here and the full release is here.
Congress launched TTID (the original alphabet soup name for the program was ITIP -- the Intelligent Transportation ...
Continue readingIf Bush Can Do It, Why Can’t the Senate?
If President Bush can present his new budget electronically, how come Senators can't present their campaign finances the same way?
Continue readingWhat Internal Emails Reveal
It's amazing what we learn when sunlight shines on the darkest corners of government. In a statement released today Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (PEER), we learn that PEER has received a flow of internal e-mails from scientists at the Department of the Interior that undermine the legality of its aggressive offshore oil and gas lease sales in federal Arctic waters. The e-mails make the case that the Bush administration did not adequately consider environmental risks prior to offering tracts in Alaskan waters as it is required to do by law.
PEER has released the emails to the public over the past several weeks, prompting two lawsuits to be filed against the administration. Native tribes and conservation groups are suing the Department of Interior for not fulfilling its legal obligation to consider environmental concerns when deciding the fate of such a development. Another suit charges the administration withheld public documents relating to the oil leases in violation of the Freedom of Information Act.
Thanks to the courageous whistleblowers at Interior and the work of PEER we are getting an unusually graphic view of what happens when government operates in the dark.
Continue readingTo File or Not To File?
We here at Sunlight take Justice Brandeis' quote to heart, "Sunlight is the best disinfectant." The idea is to give the public a clear picture of what is going on with their government. We believe providing more information by expanding disclosure and transparency on Capitol Hill will cure much of what has been called the culture of corruption in Washington. At a minimum openness will help to keep the players, both members of Congress and their staff and the lobbyists, honest even if only out the fear of embarrassment.
That alone can be a powerful incentive...But likely not as viscerally poignant as the fear of legal sanctions. Evidenced by a post Friday on the Legal Times' Influence blog titled "To File or Not to File?" that highlighted how lobbyists are reacting to the recently passed Honest Leadership and Open Government Act of 2007:
Continue readingJoint Committee on Taxation: Modest Improvements to Web site
Dana Chasin, senior advisor at OMB Watch, has posted at the watchdog groups' Budget Blog a two-part profile of the new website of the non-partisan House-Senate Joint Committee on Taxation (JCT). Dana writes that it's "mostly a look-and-feel improvement" with little new content, however, you no longer "feel as though you're entering a 19century crypt when you log into it."
The 10-member committee, established by Congress in 1926, investigates, reviews and issues reports on federal tax policy. He lauds the JCT for bringing the mysterious methodologies of revenues estimates into clearer view," even though they add that it's only a start. Which legislation the JCT chooses to provide estimates for and the timeframe involved deserve a more thorough explanation. "This process is opaque even to members of the Senate," Dana writes, and "the discreet Delphic charm of the JCT remains fundamentally intact."
Continue readingS.1 In Action: Senate Ethics Committee Reports
I've spent a lot of time on this blog deriding the Senate Ethics Committee - and the frivolous complaints leveled by Sen. John Ensign against the current ethics process - for failing to investigate Senators who have allegedly violated the trust of their office (or the law, in the case of Sen. Ted Stevens). Thanks to the recently passed ethics bill, S.1, we finally get some transparency in the Ethics Committee and some statistical information about the committee's activities. The Committee is now required to issue an annual report of activity. Here are some highlights:
Number of alleged violations received in 2007 (from any source): 95 (not including the 16 carried over from 2006)
Number of alleged violations dismissed in 2007 (including 7 cases carried over from 2006): 86 (71 for lack of jurisdiction; 15 for failure to provide sufficient facts)
Number of alleged violations which resulted in a preliminary hearing: 16 (includes 9 matters carried over from 2006 and 5 matters that have carried into 2008)
Number of alleged violations that resulted in adjudicatory review: 0
Number of alleged violations dismissed for lack of substantial merit: 11 (includes 7 matters carried over from 2006)
Number of matters resulting in disciplinary action: 0
Get Offline Tonight
Instead of spending another Friday night surfing the Web for your news, here's some television you should watch tonight. Bill Moyers Journal will give you the best arguments you'll ever need to explain why it's so important for our government to do its work in the open. They have prepared an extensive report on government waste and abuse of power.
Specifically Moyers is going to look at some of the unsolved mysteries under investigation by Congress's Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, chaired by Rep. Henry Waxman. The program profiles the Committee's work, including its investigations of the mercenary army of Blackwater; Lurita Doan, who remains head of the GSA despite allegations of questionable no-bid contracts; and Condoleezza Rice's State Department, which is plagued by fraud and abuse. Waxman's Committee's Web site is a treasure trove of information and documents on these issues. (In fact, Sunlight regards it as a model site itself when it comes to revealing the details of the work of a committee of Congress.)
And we're pleased that their Web page will highlight many of Sunlight's insanely useful Web sites for people are seeking more information.
Continue readingA Picture is Worth….
Here's a great story about Washington lobbyist lawmaker connections and a fabulous graphic. One picture is worth a 1,000 words.
Continue reading
Good Thing They Tightened Ethics Rules
Ken Dilanian reports in USAToday that lobbyists are making use of their Capitol Hill-area offices and homes to get cozier than ever with members of Congress:
Despite a strict new ban on gifts to lawmakers, lobbyists routinely use these prime locations to legally wine and dine members of Congress while helping them to raise money, campaign records show. The lawmakers get a venue that is often free or low-cost, a short jaunt from the Capitol. The lobbyists get precious uninterrupted moments with lawmakers — the sort of money-fueled proximity the new lobbying law was designed to curtail. The public seldom learns what happens there because the law doesn't always require fundraising details to be reported.USAToday includes this nifty map, showing the prime locations. Continue reading
S1 Implementation in the Senate Finance Committee
Over the last few days, there's been a good deal of talk about the ethics requirements going into effect for Senate Committees. Later today, the Senate Finance Committee is scheduled to reconcile the rules of their committee with the requirements of the Honest Leadership and Open Government Act, often referred informally as "the ethics reform bill". (Sean Moulton of OMBWatch tipped us off to this fact first in this OHP Google Group Thread.) (more)
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