Here is the week's last look at transparency-related news items, congressional committee hearings, transparency-related bills introduced in Congress, and transparency-related events. News Roundup: Campaign Finance
- Independent political groups have already spent four times as much money on the 2012 GOP primary than at the same point in 2008. (Washington Post)
- A Pro-Mitt Romney Super PAC is preparing to pump even more money into the race. The PAC will launch a $3.1 million ad assault in Iowa. (Washington Post)
Access to Information
- Rep. Darrell Issa (R-CA) created an online storehouse for information on the Justice Department's controversial Fast and Furious program. (Politico)
- Rapper and businessman Jay-Z, with an estimated net worth of $500 million, expressed support for higher taxes on wealthy Americans, provided that the government institute "open accounting" standards so the public can be sure that the money is being spent on good causes. (Politico)
- House Republicans are concerned that the Obama administration is refusing to turn over documents relating to Supreme Court Justice Elena Kagan's role working on legal strategy related to the administration's health care law when she was Solicitor General. Conservative groups want Justice Kagan to recuse herself from ruling on health care cases. (Washington Times)
Lobbying
- Two senior hill aides at the center of the fight between Hollywood and Silicon Valley over online piracy legislation are stepping through the revolving door and heading for K street. Former aides to Lamar Smith (R-TX) and the Senate Judiciary Committee minority staff are joining the government affairs offices of two major media organizations. (Politico)
- The Hawaii Ethical Lobbying Association exists to promote ethics in lobbying and good government in the state. (Lobby Comply)
2Day in #OpenGov 12/8/2011
Here is Thursday's look at transparency-related news items, congressional committee hearings, transparency-related bills introduced in Congress, and transparency-related events. News Roundup: Government
- White House officials, along with several members of Congress, are fighting to maintain the E-Gov fund's budget and ensure that sites such as Data.gov don't go dark. (Politico)
- Last night, at the first ever Congressional Hackathon, House Minority Whip Steny Hoyer (D-MD) argued that Thomas.gov should be contain more data that is easily accessible by social media and third party applications. (GovFresh)
- Rep. Darrell Issa (R-CA) and Senator Ron Wyden (D-OR) are expected to release alternative legislation to counter the Stop Online Privacy Act. SOPA is supported by traditional media groups and other copyright and trademark owners, but vehemently opposed by tech companies, venture capitalists, and privacy advocates. (National Journal)
Campaign Finance
- Some vulnerable centrist Democratic Senators may have trouble raising money and support from progressive groups. This could cause headaches for the Democratic party as they try to maintain control of the Senate. (Politico)
- This time of year America is focused on two things: Football and the holidays. Lawmakers are no different and several are hosting specially themed fundraisers. (National Journal)
State and Local
- A new project, Chicago Lobbyists, helps visualize all interactions and activities between lobbyists and the city of Chicago. Its developer touts the site's potential to "inform and change people's perception of government and lobbyists". The city is cooperating with the project. (GovFresh)
- An federal district court judge has ruled that a blogger does not have the same protections, related to alleged defamatory statements, as a traditional journalist under Oregon law. The judge interpreted the law in question to exclude "internet blogs" from protected media. (techPresident)
2Day in #OpenGov 12/7/2011
Here is Wednesday's look at transparency-related news items, congressional committee hearings, transparency-related bills introduced in Congress, and transparency-related events. News Roundup: Government
- Senators Claire McCaskill (D-MO) and Jim Webb (D-VA) are pushing the Non-Federal Employee Whistleblower Protection Act. The act, modeled after data transparency provisions in the 2009 recovery act, aims to extend whistleblower protections to federal contractors. (Government Executive)
- For the first time, Massachusetts will make hundreds of boxes of documents from Mitt Romney's tenure as governor available to the public. The move comes after it was revealed that Romney authorized the destruction of many electronic records at the end of his term. (Yahoo/AP)
Lobbying
- Azerbaijan is getting some support in Washington through a new nonprofit dedicating to supporting the country. The Azerbaijan American Alliance is set to provide a counter balance to the Armenian-American Lobby. The two countries have been clashing over disputed territory since the 1990's. (The Hill)
- The revolving door is spinning this week. Notably, the House Judiciary Committee is losing its deputy chief of staff to the National Music Publishers Association and a former general counsel for the DoD's Contract Audit Agency is joining Venable's government contracts practice. (The Hill)
Campaign Finance
- House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-VA) holds an annual Festivus fundraiser. This year, a group from Occupy Wall Street aired their grievances, a major component of the Seinfeld-popularized holiday, by protesting outside the fundraiser's venue. (National Journal)
- The Majority PAC, focused on elected Senate Democrats, intends to be a major piece of the 2012 puzzle. They have a big fundraiser scheduled, featuring more than 20 Senators as headliners. (Politico)
State and Local
- The Los Angeles, CA City Council is scheduled to vote on a resolution calling for the US Congress to amend the constitution to declare that money does not equal speech. The resolution is in response to the Citizens United Supreme Court Decision. (Lobby Comply)
- The Washington, DC Council took a first vote on ethics reform legislation yesterday. The bill, which has faced significant criticism, will likely be amended before a final vote sometime before the new year. (DCist)
2Day in #OpenGov 12/6/2011
Here is the Tuesday's take on transparency-related news items, congressional committee hearings, transparency-related bills introduced in Congress, and transparency-related events. News Roundup: Access to Information
- The United States and India teamed up in an effort to make the open data platform data.gov open source. There are currently 28 international open data platforms, the effort aims to help more countries introduce their own platforms. (O'Reilly Radar)
- Senators Dick Durbin (D-Ill) and Chuck Grassley (R-IA) introduced a bill to allow Supreme Court proceedings to be televised. The Senate Judiciary Committee subcommittee on Administrative Oversight and the Courts is holding a hearing on the bill today. (Roll Call $)
- Sarah Kaufman, one of the driving forces behind the New York City Metropolitan Transportation Authority's embrace of open data and partnerships with third party software developers, is leaving for a position at New York University. (techPresident)
- Good-government groups called for the Super Committee to retroactively embrace transparency by posting its unreleased proposals online for the public to vet. (Politico)
Lobbying
- New recordings show representatives of one of Britain's largest lobbying firms boasting about its use of "dark arts" to bury bad coverage and influence public opinion. Notably, they suggested that they could manipulate Google results to hide coverage of human rights violations. (The Independent)
- Billions of dollars worth of tax breaks and credits are set to expire this month. Lobbyists are working overtime to try and squeeze them through before the end of the year. (Politico)
Campaign Finance
- Newt Gingrich is looking to match his fundraising to his rising poll numbers. In order to compete past the early state contests Gingrich will have to raise significant funds. He is setting his sights on K street and Manhattan to achieve this goal. (New York Times)
- A Super PAC, previously dedicated to electing Herman Cain, is searching for a new candidate to support with their unlimited fundraising abilities. As long as they notify the FEC, the 9-9-9 Fund can easily support a new candidate. (Politico)
2Day in #OpenGov 12/5/2011
Here is the week's first look at transparency-related news items, congressional committee hearings, transparency-related bills introduced in Congress, and transparency-related events. News Roundup: Government
- Several federal agencies have recently started blogs on the Tumblr platform. Agencies with successful Tumblr blogs include the GSA, the departments of Defense and State, the Peace Corps, the National Archives, and the National Endowment for the Humanities. (Federal Computer Week)
- A new dashboard created by Expert Labs, a nonprofit, ranks 125 federal agencies based on their public engagement via Twitter. (Nextgov)
- The Obama administration launched a new dashboard to track priority infrastructure projects. (Federal Times)
State and Local
- The American Legislative Exchange Council creates model legislation that is introduced, and sometimes passed, in states around the country. ALEC does its best to hide information about its 300 corporate, think tank, and trade group members, who fund 99% of the group's yearly activities. (Business Week)
- Sacramento County, CA launched a new website in November that aims to help residents stay informed and connected with elected officials. (Government Technology)
- Maryland joined California in allowing campaign contributions via text message. Contributions are limited to $10 per message. The State Board of Elections' director hopes that the change will allow more people to give small donations. (Lobby Comply)
International
- India is asking internet companies, notably Facebook and Google, to screen user generated content and "remove disparaging, inflammatory or defamatory content before it goes online." The companies are expected to argue that the request is unfeasible. (Yahoo/ The Atlantic)
2Day in #OpenGov 12/2/2011
It's Friday! Celebrate the end of the week with a look at transparency-related news items, congressional committee hearings, transparency-related bills introduced in Congress, and transparency-related events. News Roundup: Government
- At a hearing to discuss the STOCK act, experts outlined a number of ways to strengthen the bill and suggested that it might not even be necessary. They were unanimous in calling for an online searchable database of Congressional stock trades. (Roll Call $)
- Conflicting reports about the amount of money the US government spends on nuclear weapons programs have made one thing clear: the government has never been fully open about the costs associated with them. (POGO)
- Opinion: Fix government by creating a new "user interface" for it. (Wall Street Journal)
Campaign Finance
- Political groups have already spent at least $35 million on the 2012 election and related policy issues. Spending is only expected to increase as the election draws closer. (The Hill)
- Sen. Scott Brown (R-MA) is turning to Wall street and K street for financial help fending off Elizabeth Warren, his 2012 challenger. (iWatchNews)
- The FEC deadlocked on a question of how closely Super PACs and members of Congress are allowed to work together on campaign ads. The non-decision is likely to turn lawmakers off from coordinating too closely with outside groups on advertisements. (National Journal)
- The FEC did decide that members of Congress are not allowed to raise and spend unlimited amounts on behalf of other candidates. The commission unanimously rejected a request by Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah) to use his leadership PAC as a Super PAC. (National Journal)
Lobbying
- This week, Sen. Roy Blunt (R-MO) expressed concern about the way federal regulators treated AT&T's efforts to merge with T-Mobile. It was revealed yesterday that Blunt's son is registered to lobby for AT&T in Missouri. (National Journal)
2Day in #OpenGov 12/1/2011
Here is Thursday's look at transparency-related news items, congressional committee hearings, transparency-related bills introduced in Congress, and transparency-related events. News Roundup: Campaign Finance
- Super PACs focused on electing or defeating members of Congress are starting to appear. Most notable, Senator Mike Lee (R-Utah) is petitioning the FEC for permission to add a Super PAC component to his leadership PAC. (Washington Post)
- Campaign finance reform groups are pushing back against an effort in the House to end public financing of presidential campaigns and terminate the Election Assistance Commission. (National Journal)
- House Democrats are preparing several campaign finance reform proposals. The are likely to face heavy opposition from Republicans, who argue that limitations on spending infringe on free speech. (The Hill)
Access to Information
- Presidential candidates and President Obama are facing scrutiny over their commitments to transparency. Many of them have touted their records, but stalled or denied access to information when it pleased them. (AP/Yahoo)
- A reporter for Gawker Media has sued the National Archives for refusing a request related to former President George W. Bush. The reporter wanted to find out who sought access to administration documents, but was denied access even though the Archives is known to have the information. (Courthouse News)
- California newspapers are sparring with state lawmakers over the media's right to information about legislative spending. Journalists claim that the state legislature routinely responds to information requests with incomplete and misleading records. (Courthouse News)
Government
- An oversight hearing focused on the 2009 stimulus revealed that easing some reporting requirements could lessen the burden on recipients of stimulus funds, but might result in more fraud and waste. (Nextgov)
- The Chairman of the board charged with overseeing $800 billion in Recovery Act spending is stepping down. Earl Devaney was credited with proactively monitoring funds as opposed to reacting to waste. He is retiring after a long career in federal oversight. (Government Executive)
2Day in #OpenGov 11/28/2011
Here is the week's first look at transparency-related news items, congressional committee hearings, transparency-related bills introduced in Congress, and transparency-related events. News Roundup: Government
- A new index ranks federal agency websites for readability, transparency, and clarity. The Bureau of Labor Statistics topped the index, with the Federal Railroad Administration came in last. (Federal Computer Week)
- Open government data is getting some mainstream attention from sources like NPR and the AP. (gov 2.0)
- Pentagon Inspector General Gordon Heddell announced that he will step down on Christmas Eve. Heddell has been credited with guiding his office with a steady hand and healing some internal problems. (POGO)
Access to Information
- The Federal Reserve lent banks a combined $1.2 trillion on December, 5 2008. Three years later, the details of these bailouts are emerging. (Bloomberg)
- President Obama has ordered federal agencies to make better use of digital record keeping systems. Obama stated that the move would give "the American public...access to clear and accurate information about the decisions and actions of the federal government." (Washington Post)
Lobbying
- Advocates for America's national parks are not being left out of the post-Super-Committee lobbying rush. In the face of automatic cuts they are planning Hill visits and spending large sums in proportion with their share of the budget. (Roll Call $)
- Two researchers have outlined a proposal to expand lobbying transparency. They argue that publishing lobbying data online would "promote competition and a vibrant democratic process". (POGO)
2Day in #OpenGov 11/18/2011
Here is the week's last look at transparency-related news items, congressional committee hearings, transparency-related bills introduced in Congress, and transparency-related events. News Roundup: Government
- Henry Waxman (D-CA), ranking member of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, introduced an amendment to an FCC reform bill aimed at making the agency more transparent. If passed, the FCC would have to post consumer complaints about communications companies online on a monthly basis. (National Journal)
- Spencer Bachus (R-AL), chairman of the House Financial Services, will hold hearings on the STOCK act. The act is aimed at curbing insider trading by members of Congress. Bachus has recently faced allegations of improper trading. (Politico)
Technology
- The FEC issued an advisory opinion approving GivingSphere's plan to collect and distribute funds to candidates, committees, and PACs via their mobile-based giving platform. Currently, GivingSphere focuses on charitable donations. (Lobby Comply)
- VoterTide collects and presents data on the performance of political candidates on various social media networks. (Lobby Comply)
Campaign Finance
- The 15 freshman members of the Tea Party Caucus are turning to the usual suspects when seeking campaign cash. Combined, they have raised almost $3.5 million from almost 700 PACs, including many traditional Republican supporters. (iWatchNews)
- Labor groups have been giving less money than usual to members of Congress this cycle and a higher percentage of their donations are going to Republicans. (Politico)
State and Local
- Charles County, MD has passed an ethics ordinance as mandated by the state, but not before removing an amendment that would have added stricter campaign finance and reporting requirements. The county commission plans to take up campaign finance and reporting in the future. (Lobby Comply)
- A judge has ordered Hawaii Governor Neil Abercrombie to release a list of state supreme court nominees proposed by the state's Judicial Selection Commission. Abercrombie had argued that releasing the list would deter potential judges from seeking nomination. (Courthouse News)
2Day in #OpenGov 11/17/2011
Here is Thursday's look at transparency-related news items, congressional committee hearings, transparency-related bills introduced in Congress, and transparency-related events. News Roundup: Presidential Candidates
- Newt Gingrich earned more than $1.6 million from Freddie Mac during the height of the housing crisis. He claims that he never lobbied for the company, but did not address reports that he was tasked with building bridges to congressional Republicans and developing an argument in favor of Freddie Mac's public-private structure that would resonate with conservatives. (National Journal)
- A new ad from a pro Jon Huntsman Super PAC illustrates the close ties that exist between candidates and the "independent" committees supporting them. Our Destiny PAC's chief strategist helped create some of Huntsman's earliest commercials and may have violated the FEC's 120 day "cooling off" period before leaving the Huntsman campaign to work for the PAC. (Washington Post)
Government
- Vice President Biden will be attending a meeting of the Government Accountability and Transparency board today. The meeting is closed to the press. (Politico)
- Sen. Tom Coburn (R-OK) reports that Congress has been shirking its oversight responsibilities. Coburn also criticized potential cuts to the Government Accountability Office, which is trying to maintain its pace of investigations with fewer resources. (Washington Times)
- Opinion: the upcoming Supreme Court arguments on health-care reform are a prime opportunity to start allowing cameras in the courtroom and televising proceedings. (Miller-McCune)
State and Local
- A Philadelphia law requiring lobbyist registration will go into effect on January 3, 2012. (Lobby Comply)
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