The Senate resumed their debate over ethics and lobbying reforms at about 1 pm today. The Durbin replacement amendment for the DeMint amendment, which caused a stir last week, is likely to be one of the first orders of business. Also on tap is the subject of private travel which is addressed in this McClatchy article. Meanwhile lobbyists have already begun to cry foul. Gosh, they have to eat lunch with other lobbyists instead of lawmakers! You can follow the debate at C-Span and review the bill at GovTrack.
Continue readingReid/DeMint Compromise Keeps Online Disclosure
The compromise on Sen. Jim DeMint's earmark reform amendment has been released and it appears that the online disclosure section of Sen. Reid's proposal will survive along with the stronger aspects of DeMint's amendment. According to CongressDaily, the Senate will vote on DeMint's amendment (SA 11) on Tuesday and then vote on a secondary amendment proposed by Reid that would do the following:
Reid said his changes include a tighter definition of a targeted "tax benefit" to help a limited group. "This is a flexible and more realistic standard," said Majority Whip Durbin. Reid's amendment would also require 48-hour notice on the Internet and aims to prevent lawmakers such as imprisoned former Rep. Randy (Duke) Cunningham, R-Calif., from thwarting disclosure rules.
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Will Reid/DeMint Compromise Include Online Accessibility to Earmarks?
With all the drama in the Senate over earmark disclosure, one major question remains -- what will the Reid/DeMint compromise have to say about keeping the earmarks reports online? A major flaw in Pelosi's Rule requiring all earmarks to be identified by sponsor and purpose is that this information is not required to be online. Only staffers and a few overworked local DC reporters can even plausibly review the earmarks. While Reid's proffer was profoundly flawed in its failure to cover the majority of earmarks, it did, at least, require that earmarks and the identifying information be online prior to a vote.
Continue readingDrama in Senate over Earmark Reform
Update: TPM Muckraker has details on the face-saving. Reid has bowed to accept the earmark reform.
The Senate Democrats fought yesterday to hold their slim majority together to fight earmark reforms proposed by Sen. Jim DeMint (R-S.C.). Sen. Harry Reid (D-Nevada), Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), and Sen. Ted Kennedy (D-Mass.) attempted to kill the DeMint amendment (SA 11), which sought to adopt the same earmark reforms the House adopted last week. When Reid pushed a motion to table the amendment ten Democrats voted against their Leader to not table the bill. The whole episode has become a major embarrassment for Reid and it is now rumored that Reid is making a compromise with DeMint to save face.
Continue readingSen. Norm Coleman: Open for Business
The following fax, sent out to PACs, Trade Associations, and Washington lobbyists, speaks pretty much for itself:
You can also view a readable, full-size version. The letter promises access to Coleman in exchange for campaign contributions; the text reads, in part:
As you know, raising money is the first step to winning, and money matters. But early money and support make an even bigger difference in my quest for victory. I am writing to ask you for your full support of my '08 Senate race. ... Continue reading
Senate Agrees to Amendment on Committee Transparency
Yesterday during the debate on the Senate ethics legislation Sen. Ken Salazar (D-Co.), along with cosponsor Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.), introduced an amendment to require that each Senate committee and subcommittee post to their website “a video recording, audio recording, or transcript of any meeting not later than 14 business days after the meeting occurs.” Salazar’s amendment (SA 15), which modifies Majority Leader Harry Reid’s (D-Nevada) substitute amendment SA 3, was agreed to by a voice vote yesterday.
Continue readingWhat Senator Tester Did Today: This is What Real Openness Looks Like
Freshman Senator Jon Tester of Montana has committed to sharing his schedule, and even though his website isn't up yet, he is already sharing it in a public place in his office. Here it is -- exactly the kind of information the public wants to know. This is what real openness looks like:
January 10th 7 AM Gym
8:15-9 AM Constituents Breakfasts with Senator Baucus's Office
9:45-11:45 Hearing: Energy Committee
Continue readingTransparency In Action
Take a look at Rep. Kirsten Gillibrand's website for her Sunlight Report. If I were one of her constituents, boy, would I feel great knowing that she was so comfortable with what she is doing in the Capital she'd post it online. Of course, as an advocate for greater transparency, I do love it. We hope (and expect) to see a lot of other lawmakers following her lead.
We have noticed that Rep. Michael Capuano has been posting a schedule of sorts since 1999. But a quick review of it suggests that he's never ever met with a lobbyist. Hmmmm. That's just quite believable, is it?
Continue readingFinding Bills Online
It would be nice to know why the Government Printing Office takes so long to take a bill and put it online so that I can access it on Thomas. Yesterday, I tried to read the lobbying and ethics reform bill currently being debated on the Senate floor, bill number S. 1, and found that it was not online at Thomas because it takes a day or two for the GPO to print a bill. Of course, S. 1 was introduced last week but the GPO says that it might take longer when a lot of bills are introduced at once (members of the House introduced over 300 bills last week, Senators introduced over 100). Is there some actual explanation for this delay other than aimless bureaucracy and backwards computer technology. If I had just drafted a bill I could post the entire thing on this blog right now, but for some reason Members of Congress cannot post bills immediately online?
Continue readingThe convergence of Ajax and Flash
While reading a couple of posts in Ajaxian about hacking the canvas tag with a flickr stream and a mootools-based image gallery stream it struck me just how sophisticated some Ajax-based UIs have become, so much so that it has become harder to tell what is and is not flash.
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