Tag Archive: Earmark

Future of Earmark Transparency Video

by Daniel Schuman Nov 16, 2010 2:50 pm

Yesterday, the Advisory Committee on Transparency hosted “the Future of Earmark Transparency” on Capitol Hill. Speaking at the event were Steve... View Article

McConnell endorses earmark moratorium

by Paul Blumenthal Nov 15, 2010 3:43 pm

Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell, after stating his support for earmarks, has come out to back a moratorium on earmarks... View Article

Transparency and the Earmark Moratorium

by John Wonderlich Nov 8, 2010 12:33 pm

Presumptive Speaker Boehner has now come out in favor of a full earmark moratorium in the House. There will be... View Article

The Future of Earmark Transparency: Event Announcement

by Daniel Schuman Nov 8, 2010 10:53 am

Earmark transparency will be the subject of a panel discussion next Monday on Capitol Hill. The conversation is particularly timely... View Article

Earmark Transparency Timeline

by Daniel Schuman Jul 30, 2010 10:02 am

I just finished putting together an earmark transparency timeline that traces disclosure developments over the last 4 years. Of particular... View Article

Earmark transparency still makes more sense than a ban

by Paul Blumenthal Jul 6, 2010 3:02 pm

The Sunlight Foundation recently sent a letter seeking cosponsors for H.R. 5258 and S. 3335, both known as the Earmark... View Article

Reporter’s Notebook: How we got the latest FTA disappearmark data

by Lisa Chiu

investigations

Jun 22, 2010 8:59 am

When we first reported about how we attempted to track down disappearmarks from the Federal Transit Administration, we recounted the difficulties in getting data in an electronic format. In response to our first Freedom of Information request, we were given a 121-page printout of a database, which in the end didn’t accurately include the information we sought: which SAFETEA-LU earmarks went unspent.

When our story ran, the FTA contacted us and said that one reason that FOIA requests are often returned in a printout and not a database form is to allow for the FOIA office to redact or ...

Disappearmarks: Millions in SAFETEA-LU transit earmarks are unspent

by Lisa Chiu

investigations

Jun 22, 2010 8:58 am

A sketch of what Rochester's Renaissance Square bus terminal would have looked like.

Nearly $120 million in Federal Transit Administration earmarks that were introduced and approved by Congress have sat untouched in FTA accounts for years and have now lapsed, according to an FTA list.

The list of unallocated earmarks, which the Sunlight Foundation Reporting Group obtained through a Freedom of Information Act request, show that funds for these projects should have been used by September 30, 2009 at the latest, but due to various reasons, were never spent. (See spreadsheet below for the full list. Some projects appear ...

Disappearmarks: Buffalo’s Switcheroo saves earmark

by Lisa Chiu

investigations

Jun 1, 2010 2:27 pm

Congressman Brian Higgins (right) breaks ground with Buffalo Mayor Byron W. Brown on historic streets in the Buffalo Inner Harbor in September 2009. (Photo: http://www.buffalowaterfront.com)

Time was running out for an $11.8 million federal earmark to redevelop the Inner Harbor of the Buffalo River where it empties into Lake Erie. Like most earmarks, the recipient – the Erie Canal Harbor Development Corporation – had only three years to spend the funds before the money lapsed. In Buffalo, that meant the corporation had until October 2007, or else lose it for good.

There were once grand plans for the ...

Americans for a Great America

by Paul Blumenthal May 18, 2010 3:48 pm

I’m really sick of these deceptively named front groups that try to pretend to be the opposite of what they... View Article