While 2014 was waning, cattlemen across the country were writing the U.S. Department of Agriculture against a proposal to allow certain beef imports from Argentina. Why? Plus, Keystone XL still dominates the news.
Continue readingThe Week on Politwoops: an Obamacare math and messaging muck up, a plea for a new font and more
Another roundup of notable deletions from Sunlight's Politwoops project to archive the deleted tweets of U.S. politicians.
Continue readingFebruary filings: Following the political money trail
The February financial reports are in for political committees filing on a monthly schedule. Some of the highlights? The DNC outraises Republicans, labor unions play state politics and Club for Growth scores another million dollar donation.
Continue readingCongressman sends out lobbying cheat sheet
Roll Call reports that Rep. Pete Sessions, already in trouble for missing his swearing-in to attend a possibly rule-breaking fundraiser,... View Article
Continue readingWhat I’m Reading This Morning
The former aide to an earmark opponent in Congress is filing suit against a client for whom he helped secure... View Article
Continue readingGovernment Secrets
Back in September, I blogged about a hold being put on a bill that would undo the damage done when President Bush issued an Executive Order allowing presidential records to remain secret indefinitely. The bill, Presidential Records Act Amendments of 2007, passed the House by a vote of 333 to 93. A bipartisan group of Senators cosponsored the bill which Senator Lieberman swiftly ushered through The Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs in June of 2007. Its momentum stalled when a Senator put a secret hold on the bill so it could not be voted on by Unanimous Consent in the Senate.
Continue readingMid-Morning News:
- Coming off of the Dow Jones Wires an FEC report released along with the announcement of a $3.8 million settlement with Freddie Mac notes that Freddie Mac's top lobbyist R. Mitchell Delk had a "bold and unprecedented" political model for Financial Services Chairman Michael Oxley (R-OH). Delk's "bold" plan went something like this, "we proposed to Chairman Oxley a political model that was bold and unprecedented. We offered to use our fundraising model to marry his interests as Chairman with our interest in assisting committee members supportive of the continued strength of America's housing finance system..." That's about as out in the open that you can get about your intents.
- Pharmaceutical companies are costing the federal government billions of dollars by lobbying against bipartisan legislation that would "speed the approval of new generics," according to the Washington Post.
- Rep. Charles Taylor (R-NC) fights back in today's Ashville Citizen-Times against charges that he accepted money from Jack Abramoff's lobbying firm in exchange for favorable action on the Saginaw Chippewa school construction earmark
- Pennsylvania lobbyist and ex-aide to former Governor Tom Ridge (R) pled guilty to felony charges of mail fraud and embezzlement, according to the Philadelphia Inquirer.
- The Kansas City Star reports that the Missouri House is considering a lobbying and campaign finance reform bill that would create more transparency in the state capitol. The bill requires lobbyists report all gifts and spending on lawmakers, including when they give to groups of lawmakers. It would also require lawmakers to post electronically all campaign contributions so that they can be audited by the State Ethics Commission. Inaccuracies and mistakes in lobbyist disclosure forms and lawmaker campaign contribution receipts would be posted online by the Ethics Commission.
- The Hill takes a look at the new DefCon ad that focuses the Jack Abramoff scandal.
- Citizens for Ethics and Responsibility in Washington has filed a complaint against Rep. Pete Sessions (R-TX) alleging that he accepted bribes from a San Francisco defense firm in exchange for his support of earmarks that benefited the company.
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