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More than two dozen first-term House members, part of an enormous freshman class swept into office on an anti-incumbent tide of disgust over Washington insider dealing, have introduced a combined 263 bills designed to benefit the bottom lines of hometown corporations.
An analysis of campaign finance records by the Sunlight Foundation shows that some of the corporations that stand to save money from bills aimed at temporarily suspending tariffs on products that the firms import are also campaign contributors to the members of Congress introducing ...
Continue readingTight rules preclude reporting charitable donations to Speaker’s pet charity
With Americans saying that reducing federal corruption is now their second most important campaign issue, it's worth looking at how well a 2007 law designed to curb corruption is holding up.
Continue readingStealthy Wealthy: To Robert Rowling, political giving makes business sense
Texas-based billionaire Robert Rowling has given a total of $6.8 million to American Crossroads, the super PAC that has run ads criticizing President Barack Obama for, among other things, bailing out and bankrolling private businesses with public money. Yet Rowling, seen at right, a member of the Forbes 400 list of the wealthiest Americans who inherited his fortune, hasn't been averse to seeking taxpayer assistance in his own business ventures. And he's been willing to use his private fortune to seek public dollars.
Though he's a less well-known name than mega donors like George Soros or ...
Continue readingBank accused of Iran money laundering lobbies in US
Standard Chartered Bank, a British bank with a U.S. division that is suspected by the New York State Department of Financial Services of laundering $250 billion dollars to Iran, has been trying to influence U.S. policy through lobbying, but exactly what the bank is trying to accomplish remains vague.
So far this year, Standard Chartered Bank has spent $90,000 to hire mega-lobbying firm The Glover Park Group, according to Senate records. Complying with regulations, the Glover Park Group has filed lobbying reports quarterly.
Since 2000, records obtained from the Senate and Sunlight's Influence Explorer reveal, Standard ...
Continue readingSpecial interests honor Congress, executive branch with nearly $19 million in 2011
Spurred by reports that Smartphone software made by Google and Apple could violate users' privacy, a Senate Judiciary subcommittee called executives from the companies to testify in May 2011. For the most part, the senators were uncharacteristically deferential to the hi-tech titans appearing before their panel. In his brief opening statement, ranking member Tom Coburn, R-Okla., said, “We need a whole lot more information and knowledge in terms of those of us on the legislative side before we come to conclusions about what needs to be done.”
One day later, Coburn was recognized at a Consumer Electronics Association event for ...
Continue readingGraphic: Which officials were honored the most in 2011?
Companies, associations and the lobbyists employed by them contributed almost $19 million to charities in honor of federal officials last year, the vast majority of it for members of Congress. You can read the full report on 2011's honorary giving here.
To find out which lawmakers and cabinet members were honored most, or to see which interests paid the most in honorary expenses last year, search the interactive graphic below. You can even filter the graphic for lawmakers from your home state.
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<iframe frameborder="0" height="605" scrolling="no" src="http://assets.sunlightfoundation.com ...
Continue readingColorado politicians magnets for gun contributions
Despite suffering two of the worst gun killings in the nation's history--Columbine and now the "Batman" shootings--Colorado, with its cowboy swagger and reputation for independence, has long been home to supporters of gun rights. And its politicians, mostly Republicans, but some Democrats as well, have been magnets for contributions from gun rights groups, benefiting from more than $3.8 million in political spending since 1989, according to a search on Influence Explorer.
In contrast, gun control groups have spent $140,342 in the state for federal and state campaigns. Of that amount, $48,000 came from the ...
Continue readingPenn State’s powerful political influence
(photo credit: flckr drocpsu)
Penn State University, targeted for unprecedented penalties after NCAA officials concluded that top university officials covered up child sex abuse by an assistant football coach has received more than $6 million in federal earmarks in recent years -- a sign of the school's aptitude at the political influence game.
Some critics have contended that aptitude may have enabled the scandal to go on longer than it otherwise might have. In 2008, Pennsylvania's state legislature debated whether to require the school to disclose police records, email, phone records--information that might have led to earlier detection of ...
Continue readingBusinesses give $33 million to super PACs
Businesses have given more than $33 million to super PACs since the beginning of this campaign cycle, according to a Sunlight analysis of campaign finance reports. Trade unions gave at least $15 million in the same time period.
Republican-aligned super PACs got the lion's share of business contributions, taking in just under $30 million. That dwarfed the $3.8 million that their Democratic-leaning counterparts received from business. Yet the gap may be narrowing ahead of the general election: Left-leaning super PACs raised almost $1.2 million from business in June, while super PACs siding with the GOP raised $4 ...
Continue readingGun interests spend millions to influence lawmakers
In the wake of the Batman movie massacre, Colorado's second mass killing in recent memory, much is being written about the unlikeliness of the tragedy leading to the kind of gun control legislation that might have prevented another troubled young man from amassing a huge arsenal. New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg was quoted in the New York Times on Saturday venting his frustration at the inertia of both major party's presidential candidates.
The gun lobby is one of the most influential in Washington -- as well as state capitals -- and figures available on Sunlight's Influence Explorer describe ...
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