Even with the 2016 election over a year away, television viewers are already seeing lots of issue ads paid for by 501(c)(4) groups across the country. We break down why.
Continue readingCorporations get more breaks on Tax Day
If corporations shouldered the same ratio of the tax burden relative to individuals that it did throughout the 1950s, they’d have paid an additional $560 billion to Uncle Sam in 2014.
Continue readingInfluence Analytics : Greenhouse gases, part II
A look at Sunlight's influence trackers shows that, on the controversial issue of global warming, the courts and the agencies are not the only place where the action is.
Continue readingInfluence Analytics: $37 will get you a lobbying fight over climate change
In the era of big data, it shouldn't be surprising that some of the biggest lobbying fights are over numbers. In this case, the number is $37.
Continue readingNAM authorized $1 million in undisclosed spending
The National Association of Manufacturers authorized close to $1 million on ads in Ohio over a two-week period, according to files uncovered with Sunlight's Political Ad Sleuth.
Update 10/18/2012, 10:15 a.m.: NAM seems to have focused its firepower on the Cincinnati market. An analysis of the ad buys by Sunlight turned up 161 spots on Cincinnati stations, compared to 96 in Cleveland and 40 in Columbus. This only includes stations that are required to file their ad buys with the Federal Communications Commission's online database. Only 11 of Ohio's 40 television stations are ...
Continue readingDo business groups’ pre-election forecasts follow their campaign money?
Housing prices and consumer confidence are up but several business groups that have been in town this week have been delivering a distinctly gloomy view of the economy. While the groups have blue-chip reputations in the business world, what's less apparent is their track record of political giving -- one that raises some questions about the forecasts they are presenting six weeks before Election Day.
First out of the blocks: the National Association of Manufacturers and the National Federation of Independent Business. The two groups teamed up at a Tuesday press conference to release a survey conducted by Public Opinion ...
Big business seeks exemption from derivatives rules
Some of Washington’s most powerful trade associations and big corporations are pushing to get an exemption from derivatives regulations mandated by the Dodd-Frank financial law—and House Republicans are planning to introduce legislation to do just that.
Under the umbrella of an ad hoc coalition, known as the Coalition for Derivatives End-Users, which is run by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the National Association of Manufacturers, and the Business Roundtable, among others, the coalition first weighed in during the debate over the financial law.
Since the law’s passage, the coalition has also been presenting its case with ...
Continue readingNew Lobbyist Disclosure Rules Under Attack
Last Friday, Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) filed an amicus brief in support of the disclosure requirements of the Honest Leadership and Open Government Act of 2007 (HLOGA), joining the Campaign Legal Center, Democracy 21 and Public Citizen in defending the disclosure provisions. All were in response to the National Association of Manufacturers who earlier in February had filed suit in federal court challenging the disclosure provisions and saying they are "vague, overbroad and burdensome" and were in violation of the First Amendment.
HLOGA requires any organization actively participating "in the planning, supervision, or control" of lobbying efforts that ponies up more than $5,000 in a quarter to disclose their activities and expenditures. The law's purpose is to shine a light on stealth lobbying and sham coalitions, pushing legislation such as those that are often promoted by groups like NAM. The law's criminal penalties on groups that fail to accurately disclose their lobby efforts succeeded at getting their attention. NAM says that the clause in question is imprecise and impacts groups that it is not intended to target. They fear the law will also require it to disclose the names of its members. NAM has requested the court issue a preliminary injunction on the disclosure rules until the court decides the case.
Continue readingNAM Files Lawsuit Against Ethics Law
As the Legal Times' Influence Blog predicted yesterday, the new lobbying and ethics law received its first legal challenge. Earlier today, the National Association of Manufacturers (NAM) announced it is suing the federal government over the Honest Leadership and Open Government Act of 2007 saying the law's lobbying disclosure rules are "vague, overbroad and burdensome" and infringe on the constitutional right of freedom of association.
Note that the law requires any organization actively participating "in the planning, supervision, or control" of lobbying efforts that ponies up more than $5,000 in a quarter to disclose their activities and expenditures. The law's purpose is to shine a light on stealth lobbying and sham coalitions, pushing legislation such as those that are often promoted by groups like NAM. The law's criminal penalties on groups that fail to accurately disclose their lobby efforts succeeded at getting their attention. NAM says that the clause in question is imprecise and impacts groups that it is not intended to target. They fear the law will also require it to disclose the names of its members. NAM has requested the court issue a preliminary injunction on the disclosure rules until the court decides the case.
Continue readingChamber and NAM Fight Disclosure
Mother Jones' MoJo Blog and The Hill report on how the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and the National Association of Manufacturers are questioning the lobbying disclosure rules in the Honest Leadership and Open Government Act of 2007. (The law requires any organization actively participating "in the planning, supervision, or control" of lobbying efforts that ponies up more than $5,000 in a quarter to disclose their activities and expenditures.)
The trade groups say that the new rules violate constitutional protections of freedom of association by forcing them to open up their membership lists. So they sent a letter to the Senate secretary and the House clerk asking for a clarification in how it will be applied, charging that the law is vague and broad. Also, the fact the law imposes criminal penalties on groups that fail to accurately disclose their lobby efforts got their attention. "The price for being wrong is extremely high," said the Chamber's top legal officer as quoted by The Hill.
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