Analysis shows that working for a long-serving senator — especially one in a key leadership position — is a very good stepping stone to a lucrative career in lobbying.
Continue readingHow revolving door lobbyists are taking over K Street
Between 1998 and 2012, total lobbying revenue from active contract lobbyists almost doubled. The kicker? All of this new revenue came exclusively from revolving door lobbyists.
Continue readingK Street pays top dollar for revolving door talent
It is a widely accepted truism in Washington that the place to get rich is on “K Street” — that metonymic shorthand for the Washington lobbying business. But how rich?
Continue readingLobby-a-palooza! New year brings new turn of the revolving door
It's a happy and potentially lucrative New Year for many former Capitol Hill denizens, as the turn of the calendar also brings a turn of Washington's revolving door.
Continue readingWhat a “Lobbyists’ Lament” doesn’t tell us about lobbying
Haley Barbour and Ed Rogers’ piece, “The Lobbyists’ Lament,” is an unintentionally remarkable example of how lobbying works. It’s lively, persuasive and factually correct. As is most lobbying. Problem is, it’s also one-sided. As is most lobbying.
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 readingQatar’s growing DC influence
An interesting Washington Post story about how the emirate of Qatar is investing in DC real estate got us looking at its growing influence footprint here as well.
Continue readingIsrael inches toward lobbying reform
Earlier this summer, a lobbying reform bill that strengthens disclosure and improves transparency was introduced to the Knesset, the Israeli parliament. While the bill is not without flaws, it is an encouraging step in the right direction.
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 readingAnnouncing Sunlight’s international lobbying disclosure guidelines
With more and more civil society organizations in the open government universe recognizing that “thorny issues” -- such as political finance transparency or surveillance -- need to be tackled somewhat more vehemently, we are eager to seize the momentum and start a hopefully constructive dialogue around an embarrassingly under- or unregulated area: lobbying disclosure. A few weeks back, with the support of our friends at the Open Knowledge Foundation, we took the first steps to create a community of interested advocates, activists and academics, and launched a public working group around the world of influence.
Today, we are excited to announce our draft lobbying disclosure guidelines and invite the community to provide input on these recommendations.
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