Oxfam's discussion of the limits of transparency resonates strongly with the weaknesses of the McCutcheon decision.
Continue readingReal time transparency bill a real time response to McCutcheon
Sen. Angus King responded quickly to the Supreme Court’s decision in McCutcheon v. FEC today, announcing the Real Time Transparency Act of 2014, requiring 48-hour disclosure of hard money campaign contributions of $1,000 or more.
Continue readingErring on the side of shady: How calling out “lobbyists” drove them underground
Recent disclosure measures were supposed to provide more accurate reporting of who lobbyists were and what they did. Instead, they just drove lobbying underground, making it harder to track than ever.
Continue readingA troubling anti-transparency provision has appeared in the omnibus budget bill
Tucked away within the more than 1,500 pages of the omnibus budget bill is a small paragraph with potentially big effects for transparency efforts.
Continue readingFOIA Santa Comes Early to Sunlight!
Recently, Sunlight filed our first FOIA lawsuit against the GSA to get 14 years of data - we got almost everything we wanted, but some info was withheld. Now we've got all the data - and no black redaction bars!
Continue readingEU fails to produce clear recommendations on lobbying transparency
After months of deliberation, the EU working group responsible for fixing the EU’s somewhat dysfunctional lobbying transparency register has concluded its review process without producing clear recommendations.
Continue readingReal-Time Disclosure — One Simple Fix for a More Informed Public
As the Supreme Court continues its assault on campaign finance limits, we have a modest proposal for more informed citizens and a more accountable government.
Continue readingSunlight Supports Effort for Greater Lobbying Disclosure in the UK
The Sunlight Foundation is supporting lobbying transparency efforts across the pond - will you join us?
Continue readingAs IRS Takes Aim at Fake Social Welfare Organizations, Will Some in Congress Take Aim at the IRS?
In a surprise announcement, the IRS has opened the door to re-writing outdated rules regarding political activity of so-called social welfare organizations. The move is long overdue. Over a year ago, Sunlight urged the agency to take a look at rules that have not been updated since 1959. We also told Congress that after it held hearings on the IRS’s targeting of groups with conservative sounding names, it should provide guidance for the agency as to how it could more effectively, efficiently and fairly enforce the law. Even though that congressional leadership never materialized, the IRS should be congratulated for taking the first steps toward reforming its broken rules.
The IRS doesn’t have an easy road ahead of it. In the best case scenario, rules won’t be finalized until after the 2014 elections, ensuring that fake social welfare organizations—organizations like Crossroads GPS on the right and Patriot Majority USA on the left—will continue spending the vast majority of their money on election-related activity, not "social welfare." The IRS will face obstruction from congressional Republicans (in the form of legislation attempting to ban the IRS from enacting new rules, threats to its budget, or still more hearings) as well as court challenges that will further threaten the adoption of clear regulations.
Against the ‘Against Disclosure’ column in the New York Times
In this today’s New York Times’ Gray Matter column, political scientist David M. Primo has penned a piece with a provocative title: “Against Disclosure.” In it, he highlights his own survey research, in which respondents given a hypothetical ballot measure and exposed to news reports that included campaign finance disclosure data did no better identifying the position of different interest groups than those votes who merely read news accounts and saw a voter guide. Both the Times article and Primo’s underlying research are misleading.
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