We're monitoring changes public access to public information on federal government websites under the Trump administration.
Continue readingHarris Fellows to help us shine a light on what works in cities
This summer, Sunlight will be working with fellows from the Harris School exploring public policy issues and providing opportunities that to expand their knowledge and skills.
Continue readingShalesmanship: Ralph Hall’s Energy act might have benefited his own bottom line
Veteran Rep. Ralph Hall appears to be profiting from legislation he helped write. But the Texas Democrat-turned-Republican didn't want to discuss his profits from the Barnett Shale.
Continue readingExxonMobil lobbies consumer agency on phthalates
Under heavy lobbying by ExxonMobil and other industry heavyweights, the Consumer Product Safety Commission is nearly a year late with a mandated report on the possible dangers found in chemicals used to create plastic products from raincoats to "rubber" duck bath toys to shampoo. A Sunlight review of the public record shows how outgunned consumer advocates are by industry.
Continue readingAl Jazeera lands heavyweight Republican lobbyist
Tom Korologos, a Republican so admired by lawmakers on both sides of the aisle that he's been called "the 101st senator," is going to lobby for Al Jazeera.
Continue readingAbout last night: State of the Union includes nods to special interests
Yesterday, we posted an item asking if influence data--campaign contributions and lobbying reports--could offer a useful prediction to the content of President Barack Obama's fourth State of the Union address. Did Obama include items on their lobbying agendas? How well did we do?
Reasonably well, we think. Of the ten areas we made predictions, we were right or partially right on eight of them. And in our two misses, we knew we were pretty far out on a limb when we suggested that Obama would suggest bolstering the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act to tweak Sheldon Adelson, who along with ...
Continue readingWhat big donors would like to hear in the State of the Union
Though we can't predict the rhetorical tropes--not the thematic structure or the memorable lines or phrases that will fall flat--a look at the world of influence might tell us some of the issues President Barack Obama will touch on in his fourth State of the Union address. If a part of politics is rewarding your friends while giving your opponents good government, then the 2012 contest--which featured history's first billion-dollar presidential campaign (Obama's), first billion-dollar-plus outside spending campaign, plus oodles of special interest cash flowing to congressional candidates--leaves a lot of ground to cover.
Sunlight combed through ...
Continue readingTwo freshmen seek end to corporate personhood
Two new members of Congress, Reps. Rick Nolan, DFL-Minn., and Mark Pocan, D-Wis., will introduce a resolution on Tuesday aimed at reducing corporate influence in politics through an amendment to the U.S. Constitution.
According to Nolan, the amendment would establish that "corporations are not people, and money is not speech." In a press conference Monday, he announced the plan along with representatives from Move to Amend (MTA), a coalition that seeks to eliminate corporate personhood rights. The organization officially launched Jan. 21, 2010, the day that the Supreme Court handed down the Citizens United decision that opened the floodgates ...
Continue readingEmergency Committee for Israel keeps spending in fight against Hagel
(Updated Feb. 8, 5:52 p.m.)
The Emergency Committee for Israel has launched a new ad campaign to oppose former Sen. Chuck Hagel's nomination for secretary of defense, after the vote to confirm him was delayed in the Senate.
A decision by the Senate Armed Services Committee to postpone its vote on Hagel's nomination -- made because some committee members said they wanted more information about Hagel's speaking engagements -- gave the groups spending against him more time to place ads. Sen. Carl Levin, D-Mich., chairman of the committee, said he plans to hold the vote as soon ...
Continue readingBloomberg spending in Chicago congressional race
(Updated Feb. 7, 10:06 p.m. ET)
A super PAC founded by New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg has jumped into a special election to fill a Chicago-area congressional seat, criticizing one of the candidates for her opposition to gun control.
Independence USA PAC has purchased at least $660,000 of ad time from Chicago network stations to oppose Democrat Debbie Halvorson, one of a big field of candidates vying for the seat that ex-Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr. vacated last year. Halvorson already won a House seat in 2008. In her failed 2010 reelection bid, she won the endorsement ...
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