(photo credit: flckr drocpsu)
Penn State University, targeted for unprecedented penalties after NCAA officials concluded that top university officials covered up child sex abuse by an assistant football coach has received more than $6 million in federal earmarks in recent years -- a sign of the school's aptitude at the political influence game.
Some critics have contended that aptitude may have enabled the scandal to go on longer than it otherwise might have. In 2008, Pennsylvania's state legislature debated whether to require the school to disclose police records, email, phone records--information that might have led to earlier detection of ...
Continue readingMexico’s president-elect hires DC lobbyists
Mexico’s President-elect, Enrique Peña Nieto, who takes office December 1, has hired lobbying firm Chlopak, Leonard, Schechter & Associates to represent him in Washington. According to documents filed with the Department of Justice (DOJ), the contract focuses on U.S. outreach and “monitoring of news and policy developments related to Mexico-U.S. interests.”
So far, six lobbyists with the firm have filed paperwork confirming they will work as part of the Peña Nieto account.
The question is whether Peña Nieto, seen at right, should have filed sooner. This may not even be the first U.S. media ...
Continue readingSenate hears from heavy hitters on both sides of fracking debate
The effect on the water supply of hydraulic fracturing, also known as fracking -- a method for extracting heretofore hard to reach natural gas reserves -- has caught national attention, even inspiring a fiercely critical movie. Now, the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works is looking into the effect of fracking on the air -- and getting an earful from witnesses from organizations on both sides of the debate with long track records in Washington's influence game..
The panel's Clean Air and Nuclear Safety subcommittee held a hearing Tuesday on recently issued Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) performance standards for reducing ...
Continue readingSurvey says: congressional staffers want more online communications with lobbyists
When it comes to being lobbied, the results are clear: congressional staffers want to be e-mailed. According to the new... View Article
Continue readingMitt Romney makes an early appearance in lobbying filings
It's not surprising that a Republican stalwart like Bob Dole, the party's 1996 presidential candidate and, prior to that, the Senate Majority Leader, would have occasion to speak with current GOP presidential nominee Mitt Romney. But the context is: Dole's firm, Alston and Bird, disclosed that he's started to lobby Mitt Romney on behalf of the Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office of the United States (TECRO), the diplomatic mission of Taiwan to the United States.
Filings made to the Justice Dept. under the Foreign Agents Registration Act show that Dole has reached out to many ...
Continue readingDo lobbying and campaign contributions help corporate fraudsters?
Though those of us who study money in politics tend to focus on its effects on legislation and regulation, two... View Article
Continue readingGuess who’s giving to lawmaker trying to repeal tax on medical devices?
The Minnesota congressman leading the charge to repeal a medical device excise tax that is meant to generate a big chunk of funding for the health care reform law has taken the most campaign money--more than $64,000--from medical device manufacturers this election cycle.
Rep. Erik Paulsen, R-Minn., has attracted 240 cosponsors, including 11 Democrats, for his bill to repeal the 2.3 percent excise tax, which the House is scheduled to consider this week. Paulsen hails from a state where the medical device industry is a substantial employer. Companies such as Medtronic, St. Jude Medical, and Starkey Laboratories ...
Continue readingZynga places bet on lobbyists, hires two D.C. firms
Following a familiar path for high tech companies, social networking game platform Zynga has hired its first Washington lobbyists, filings with the Senate Office of Public Records show. The company seeks to influence legislation "pertaining to regulation and taxation of Internet gambling" as well as online privacy policy.
Zynga, whose share price has fallen recently, develops games for online sites like Facebook and for mobile devices. The company's prospectus, filed with Securities and Exchange Commission on March 23, notes that some of their games, including Zynga Poker, "may become subject to gambling-related rules and regulations and expose us to ...
Continue readingNews Without Transparency: Albany Lobbying is Recession Proof
News Without Transparency- Albany Lobbying is Recession Proof Lobbying is big business in New York. Earlier this year, the Legislative... View Article
Continue readingCompanies who lobby outperform companies who don’t lobby
The more a company lobbies, the better its publicly-traded shares perform. At least, that’s the conclusion of an academic research... View Article
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