American Airlines, which announced today that it has finalized terms of a merger with US Airways, was already the biggest spender on influence among air carriers. Adding US Airways will likely extend its reach.
While the two carriers' agreement to create the world's largest airline must win approval of federal regulators, they will have plenty of chits to draw on and an amazing array of former insiders to make to their case to Congress and the Obama administration of the wisdom of their plan.
American, which declared bankruptcy in Nov. 2011 and announced thousands of layoffs three months later ...
Continue readingWhat big donors would like to hear in the State of the Union
Though we can't predict the rhetorical tropes--not the thematic structure or the memorable lines or phrases that will fall flat--a look at the world of influence might tell us some of the issues President Barack Obama will touch on in his fourth State of the Union address. If a part of politics is rewarding your friends while giving your opponents good government, then the 2012 contest--which featured history's first billion-dollar presidential campaign (Obama's), first billion-dollar-plus outside spending campaign, plus oodles of special interest cash flowing to congressional candidates--leaves a lot of ground to cover.
Sunlight combed through ...
Continue readingSuper Bowl blues: Safety concerns set off lobbying scrimmage
Updated: Feb. 2
America is settling in for this Super Bowl weekend against an unsettling backdrop of questions about football safety -- an issue that gained traction this week when, in an interview with The New Republic, First Fan Barack Obama raised doubts about whether parents should let their children play the sport.
That presidential play highlights an ongoing scrimmage on Capitol Hill between the helmet-making industry, which opposes federal regulations on the headgear, and interest groups who are pushing for them. The lobbying centers around a bill introduced by Sen. Tom Udall, D-N.M., in the last Congress that pushed ...
Continue readingRoundup of Recent Revolving Door Work
The old Washington habit of using government positions and relationships to a land a lobbying gig continues to make news.
Continue readingRoe v. Wade at 40: Abortion debate fuels multi-million-dollar influence effort
Friday's annual March for Life will bring thousands of anti-abortion protesters to the Supreme Court, marking this week's 40th anniversary of the justices' Roe v. Wade decision that legalized abortion nationwide. The event underscores the continuing intensity of a debate that has spawned well-financed lobbies on both sides at the federal and state level.
Although the 113th Congress has been in session less than a month, the issue of abortion already is on the docket. A search using Sunlight Foundation's Scout, which allows users to track issues in Congress, the 50 state legislatures and the Federal Register ...
Continue reading5 Things Reps Should Do to Be More Transparent
With 67 new representatives and 12 new senators just sworn in, it's likely that many members of the 113th Congress are still learning the way to their offices. As they get settled, here are 5 recommendations that they (and their colleagues) could implement right now to be more transparent. 1. Create an Online Guest Book Starting the day they they were sworn in, lobbyists, well-wishers, and constituents have streamed into member offices. While visitors to the White House are listed online, the same isn't true for visitors to congressional offices. At their front doors, representatives should set up an electronic guest book where visitors are encouraged to type in their names, briefly summarize why they're visiting, and say whether they're a federally registered lobbyist. That information should be posted on the member's website. In addition, members should post online their just completed daily schedule of activities, as maintained by their scheduler, at the end of each day. It will help people better understand what they do on a daily basis. 2. Who's Who in the Office Most meetings that take place in a congressional office are with staff, not the representative. Each staffer is the member's point person for a particular topic. All offices should post online a list of staff working in the office and the issue areas they handle. (Some already do this.) This info is already available from private companies for a fee, but it should be available for everyone.
Continue readingSunlight’s Legislative Agenda for the 113th Congress
The Sunlight Foundation’s legislative branch agenda for the 113th Congress is sweeping and comprehensive, but if Congress is committed to... View Article
Continue readingLobbyists save big businesses from fiscal cliff tax hikes
Congress may have averted the fiscal cliff, raising taxes on households making more than $450,000, ending the payroll tax holiday which will take a bite from workers' paychecks, and leaving the bigger issues of raising the debt ceiling, reforming entitlements and addressing federal spending to the next Congress. While the fiscal cliff deal results in a tax hike for all workers, some special interests preserved their favorite tax breaks the old fashioned way: lobbying and contributing to members of Congress.
Most of the goodies sprinkled through the American Taxpayer Relief Act have been on the wish lists of big ...
Continue readingHagel appointment would give some lobbyists a friend in the Pentagon
Reports that President Barack Obama will tap former Sen. Chuck Hagel, a Republican who had as many arguments with his own party as he did with Democrats, for the top job at the Pentagon has led some special interests to launch an ad campaign against him. But for former aides to the Cornhusker senator working for clients in the defense industry, Hagel winning the top job in the military means having a friend in a high place.
Lobbyists who once worked for the Nebraska lawmaker represent a host of companies that do business with the Department of Defense. Their clients ...
Continue readingExplaining the power of the National Rifle Association, in one graph
In the wake of the tragic shooting in Newtown, one of the emerging debates is whether there will even be a debate. Past mass shootings have come and gone without any action. Many argue that the reason for this inaction is simple: politicians have been afraid to take on the National Rifle Association, the large and influential pro-gun lobby that spent at least $18.6 million this past election cycle - $11.1 million through its Political Victory Fund, plus $7.5 million through its affiliated Institute for Legislative Action.
Here are the data: The NRA has spent 73 times what the leading pro-gun control advocacy organization, the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence, has spent on lobbying in the 112th Congress ($4.4 million to $60,000, through the second quarter of 2012), and 4,143 times what the Brady Campaign spent on the 2012 election ($24.28 million to $5,816). (One caveat on the data is that the NRA itself does a very poor job of accurately reporting its spending, and we must rely on its self-reports.)
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