USDA Puts Aid Recipients’ Social Security Numbers Online
For almost a decade, some divisions of the Department of Agriculture published the Social Security numbers of individuals who receive federal aid in a publicly available online database of government grants. The Farm Service Agency and at least one other agency within Agriculture included the nine digit numbers as part of the tracking number assigned to each recipient of government assistance, called a Federal Award ID.
Those tracking numbers were then published in the Federal Assistance Awards Database System (FAADS), an online compendium of all types of financial assistance awards made by federal agencies to all types of recipients," which ...
Continue readingUSDA Puts Aid Recipients’ Social Security Numbers Online
For almost a decade, some divisions of the Department of Agriculture published the Social Security numbers of individuals who receive federal aid in a publicly available online database of government grants. The Farm Service Agency and at least one other agency within Agriculture included the nine digit numbers as part of the tracking number assigned to each recipient of government assistance, called a Federal Award ID.
Those tracking numbers were then published in the Federal Assistance Awards Database System (FAADS), an online compendium of “all types of financial assistance awards made by federal agencies to all types of recipients,” which is updated quarterly. This database is generally used by experts and is not very user-friendly.
Continue reading12 Senators Left! Keep Calling.
Major media outlets are reporting that the Senator in question is definitely a Republican. Since we know that the Senator is a Republican we can narrow down our search to the remaining 12 Republican Senators. Help find the anonymous Senator and call these 12 Senators today. I’ve separated them into two groups. One group contains Republican cosponsors of the bill that have not made a statement yet. It is highly unlikely that any of these Senators have blocked the bill but it is still worth getting a statement out of them. The second group is our Main Suspects list. These Senators aren’t cosponsors and have either not been contacted or refuse to divulge information. It is time to put pressure on these 10 Senators. Just in case a staffer tells you there is no hold let them know that Sen. DeMint's office confirmed that there is a hold to one our callers. Who is the anonymous Senator blocking S. 223? It’s time to find out. Use this contact form to let us know or leave your findings in the comments.
Scrutinizing the Senate
GOPProgress's Liz Mair provides more information on the behind-the-scenes maneuvering that is holding up consideration of S. 223. While she hasn't found the whodunit yet, her sleuthing has turned up a number of interesting new angles--among them this one...
...while at least one (almost certainly Republican) Senator has objected to this legislation and thereby prevented it passing quickly and expeditiously (which, in my opinion, sucks), Harry Reid as Majority Leader is apparently completely capable of putting this bill on the calendar and raising it for a swift, ordinary, straight up-or-down vote any time he likes. So, while whichever Senator or Senators placed an objection and a block on this legislation being passed by the fast-track route is still pretty lame, in my opinion, ultimately, Harry Reid has the final say on getting this bill passed-- and he should stick it on the calendar and bring it to an ordinary, boring old vote quickly.Continue reading
It’s the Anonymity, Stupid. Keep Calling.
Secret hold. Secret objection. Whatever you call it there is no reason for some anonymous Senator to secretly block any bill, let alone a bill that increases transparency. As Ellen said, “a hold is a hold is a hold, unless you want to debate what the definition of "is" is.” Instapundit agrees. But thanks to you, we’re getting closer to figuring out which Senator is anonymously blocking this bill. Currently we’ve crossed 56 Senators off of our list, 29 Republicans and 27 Democrats. We still need you to call your Senators and find out who the anonymous Senator is. Let’s finish this today!
Continue readingA Hold is a Hold. Keeping Calling.
Last night at about 7.30 PM I got three or four emails from some of our conservative allies in the fight for greater transparency in Congress. Independently, all of them wanted to pass along talking points that they received from (get this!) an anonymous Republican Hill source who claimed that the secret hold on the Senate's electronic filing bill wasn't a "secret hold" but, well, an anonymous objection to bringing the bill up by unanimous consent. In our mind, a hold is a hold is a hold, unless you want to debate what the definition of "is" is.
Looks like the Washington Post agrees with Sunlight's definition of a secret hold. See their editorial (You gotta' love their headline: "Sen. Ima Luddite (R)" and a column. Check out the NYTimes Blog, The Hill, and the SF Examiner for more support for our position.
Continue readingWho Placed a Secret Hold on Sunlight?
Yet again an anonymous Senator has placed a secret hold on legislation that would increase transparency. This time a secret hold has been placed on a bill, S. 223, that would mandate that Senators file their campaign finance reports electronically. This process would not only make these reports more readily available to the public but would also save money and resources.
Yesterday this bill was blocked by an anonymous Senator who placed a secret hold on the bill. Secret holds are so looked down on these days that earlier this year the Senate itself banned the practice, although the bill containing that provision has yet to become law. But until secret holds are banished forever, we need your help in exposing the culprit who is blocking consideration of the electronic filing requirement for Senate campaign finance reports.
We need your help to find out who placed this secret hold! Call your Senators and ask them if they are the one with the secret hold on S. 223. Then report back here in the comments with your findings or contact us using this contact form. Below is a list of Senators, organized by state, and their contact info. If a Senator issues a denial we will indicate that next to their name.
Continue readingSecret Hold Placed on Senate Electronic Filing Bill
Update: Here's Feingold's statement.
Today Russ Feingold and Dianne Feinstein brought S.223, the Senate electronic disclosure bill, to the floor for a unanimous consent vote. When they asked if there was any objection Sen. Lamar Alexander, filling in for the minority leadership, announced that he had an objection, indicating that some Senator in the Republican caucus has placed a secret hold on the disclosure bill. This is twice in two years that a Senator has placed a secret hold on legislation providing for more disclosure to the public. Last year, it was the Coburn-Obama earmark database bill and a coalition of Right and Left bloggers smoked out both Sens. Ted Stevens and Robert Byrd as the secret holders. Don't these Senators know that we will find out who you are.
Continue readingSunlight is Moving Monday, April 16
We are all very excited about our move to new and larger space. The move actually begins mid-afternoon today, April 16, and while it should be completed before business tomorrow, we are all assuming that there will be disruptions for the next several days. Our computer systems are supposed to be back up and running on Tuesday the 17th. Phones will not operate before the end of the day on Wednesday, the 18th. And this web site should be unaffected by all. Since nothing ever goes as smoothly as planned, forgive the interruptions as we settle into our new headquarters. We'll be back in full operation as soon as possible.
Continue reading
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