The biggest scandal involving former House Speaker Dennis Hastert has little to do with the one he faced in a U.S. courthouse in Chicago this week.
Continue readingSilver arrest shows need for more robust state disclosure
The arrest of New York state Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver on corruption charges highlights something we've seen again and again — the need for greater political disclosure.
Continue readingICYMI: Sunlight’s report on Susan Rice’s financial stake in Keystone XL
The widely reported possibility of United Nations Ambassador Susan Rice’s nomination to become secretary of state now has a lot... View Article
Continue readingLetter to GAO: Review the Financial Disclosure System
Today, Sunlight is sending the following letter (see below) to the Government Accountability Office, or GAO. We are urging them... View Article
Continue readingLawmakers neglect to report ties to nonprofits
Two members of Congress left some information in the dark when filling out their personal financial disclosure forms, which were made public last week.
According to ethics rules, if a member of Congress sits on the board of directors at a nonprofit, he or she is supposed to disclose the position. But at least two representatives—Corrine Brown, D-Fla., and Ander Crenshaw, R-Fla.—have failed to do so. The lawmakers' positions were discovered while researching lobbying reports, where lobbyists report honorary gifts to charities tied to members of Congress. There could be many more members of Congress making the same ...
Continue readingWhy don’t lawmakers disclose nonprofits and charities they are affiliated with?
Last year the New York Times ran an article on the corporate donations to charities associated with members of Congress.... View Article
Continue readingFix Congress’ Personal Financial Disclosures
A Wall Street Journal investigative report revealed yesterday that at least 72 hill staffers “traded shares of companies that their... View Article
Continue readingGOP lawmaker overseeing Rangel trial has also failed to disclose assets
According to Roll Call, Rep. Michael McCaul did not properly report dozens of stock transactions on both his 2008 and... View Article
Continue readingWhat should lawmakers do about personal stock holdings?
USA Today had a couple of dueling editorials yesterday about stocks held by lawmakers. Should they recuse themselves from votes... View Article
Continue readingSEC and CFTC exclude derivatives from joint regulatory review
As part of the broader push to strengthen regulation of the financial industry, two agencies with sometimes conflicting responsibilities and rules joined forces to see how harmonizing their efforts might be effective in, among other things, protecting against fraud and forcing foreign trade organizations to register with them before doing business within the United States. However, a Government Accountability Office (GAO) report, released yesterday, highlights that the two agencies, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), did not assess how they could cover gaps in the agencies’ authorities to oversee derivatives—a central part ...
Continue reading
59063
