A report put out by the Asoociated Press today highlights the lack of disclosure of money spent to influence mid-term elections. The story highlights the successful fundraising efforts by American Crossroads and Crossroads GPS, two Republican-leaning organizations created by top Bush administration advisors, and notes that the two groups raised $14.5 million combined in one 30-day period that ended on Sunday.
But that information can't be verified.
The information is said to have been made available to the AP; it is not filed on any official disclosure. The only amount of money that can be confirmed is about ...
Continue reading‘Baby Steps’ for Federal E-Rulemaking Process
Federal rules affect many aspects of American life, ranging from whether truck drivers can send text messages to standards for the quality of drinking water.
But most of the more than 8,000 rules that federal government agencies establish each year take effect largely unnoticed by consumers, even though agencies are required to seek public comment. The feedback – which is usually dominated by lobbyists and industry-backed groups – is then typically analyzed by an agency before it finalizes a regulation.
Open government advocates agree that the rulemaking process is far more open than years ago, when individuals had to physically visit ...
SpeechNow now speaking
The nonprofit group Speechnow.org has finally established itself as an independent expenture-only committee with the Federal Elections Commission. The group waited for two months after the FEC issued advisory opinions clearly stating that groups could organize to make independent expenditures and receive unlimited contributions -- a result Speechnow's win in a federal court case againt the FEC.
David Keating, spokesman for Speechnow.org, says the organization was simply waiting until it was ready to start receiving contributions and spending money, and that didn't happen until recently.
Continue readingCan we rate heart surgeries like blenders?
The Consumers Union, publisher of Consumer Reports, released a set of ratings yesterday for something rather more important than appliances: heart bypass surgery. Using data submitted to the Society of Thoracic Surgeons (STS), the Consumers Union has graded various heart surgery groups using a three-star scale, similar to the way it rates radios, cameras and washing machines. It's a set of valuable public data that could serve as a model for expanding the Department of Health and Human Services' open government sites like Data.medicare.gov and the Community Health Data Initiative.
The heart surgery ratings are based on ...
Continue readingTop donors to lawmakers fund their official portraits
For 24 years, Rep. Bart Gordon, D-Tenn., has represented the sixth district of Tennessee, rising to become the chairman of the House Science Committee. Now he is retiring, but he is planning to leave his likeness behind in the committee room, in the form of an official portrait paid for by corporate donors such as Lockheed Martin, Microsoft, and Northrop Grumman, which are also top contributors to his campaign fund. These companies have contributed a total of $34,000 to the portrait fund.
Another lawmaker, House Agriculture Chairman Collin Peterson, D-Minn., who is slated for an easy win in the ...
Continue readingMore political organizations declare they’ll take unlimited funds
In the 6 weeks following an advisory opinion issued by the Federal Elections Commission allowing some political organizations—called independent expenditure-only PACs—to receive unlimited contributions from corporations and labor unions, 23 groups have registered as such. The FEC is anticipating 67 more to do so as well. To see both FEC lists click here.
Sunlight first reported on these organizations when a group called the League of Conservation Voters Fund intervened in the Colorado primary, running a phone bank to support Sen. Michael Bennet.
These groups are created for the sole pupose of making independent expenditures to influence elections ...
Continue readingStates of Transparency: Tennessee
The Open Government Directive encouraged states to put valuable government data online. In this series we're reviewing each state's efforts in this direction.
This week: Tennessee
Website: www.tn.gov/opengov/
The open government site for the state of Tennessee offers checkbook-level spending data, but would be extremely frustrating to serious researchers looking to do their own analysis. It's just not laid out in a computer-friendly way.
Currently, spending information is available in PDF format. It isn't searchable by vendor name or spending type, and isn't downloadable in any machine-readable format. And it's updated ...
Continue readingConsumer Safety Agency Plans Crowdsourcing Database
Over the objections of manufacturers, the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) will launch a searchable, online database in March that collects consumer complaints about harmful or dangerous products.
The new crowdsourcing tool at www.SaferProducts.gov will require consumers to describe the harm caused by a product, to identify the manufacturer, and to attest that their complaint is accurate. Currently, most consumer complaints about a safety issue remain confidential unless the CPSC decides that a recall is merited.
“This will really beef up research and data we have on public safety,” says Nancy Cowles of Kids In Danger, a child ...
FEC plans real-time release of campaign spending data
Lobbying dollars continue to flow toward health care reform
The President signed the health care reform bill in March, but over $125 million in lobbying dollars continues to flow to the issue, lobbying disclosure forms show. Total dollars spent lobbying on health care issues remained high in the three months after the reform bill was passed, dipping by only $16 million since the first quarter of the year.
State insurance commissioners are currently working out the details that will shape one of the first regulatory battles of health care reform: what percent of premiums health insurers must spend on patient care. And the health care industry is taking note ...
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