Top recipients of contributions from registered lobbyists, 2010 election cycle.
Formula for Google Spreadsheets:
=ImportHtml("http://www.opensecrets.org/industries/recips.php?cycle=2010&ind=K02","table",4)
=ImportHtml("link","table",4)
CleanUpData.com
Google Fusion
5,000 earmark requests databased
Our friends at Washington Watch have had some success in their effort to turn messy, un-formatted member earmark requests into usable, analyzable data:
We've collected more than 5,000 earmarks, input by people across the country who want to get a handle on how members of Congress and senators direct spending to special projects in their districts and states. (You can see how the annual spending process is going in our FY 2010 Spending Tracker, by the way.)
But there's plenty more to do, and the chance to win a Kindle for helping out.
Continue readingWith objection period on contract over, board will release contract
Less than three percent Palin’s itemized PAC contributions from Alaskans
Less than three percent of the itemized money raised by resigning Alaska Governor Sarah Palin's leadership PAC came from Alaskans, newly filed campaign finance reports show. SarahPAC reported raising more than $730,000 in the last six months--less than half of the $1.6 million raised by Mitt Romney's PAC.
Both names have been mentioned as potential 2012 Republican presidential candidates, and the non-campaign, federal-level political action committee accounts are sometimes used to lay the infrastructure for a later bid, financing travel and winning over fellow politicians with donations to their campaigns.
The reports do not provide information ...
Continue readingWashington Watch Releases Earmark Request Entry Form
For the first time in 2009, members of Congress had to release their earmark requests to the public. As we've documented before, this information is scattered over 535 Web sites in all kinds of different formats. Jim Harper and Washington Watch have now released a tool that allows volunteers to capture that earmark information for posterity, centralize it in a single location, and allow for all kinds of additional analysis and investigation. And, if you participate, you can win a Kindle!
Find out more here.
The more members we get entered, the more meaningful research we can do about ...
Continue readingUSDA misses the point
Matt Drudge has linked a dozen or so examples of what look to be wasteful spending in the stimulus--$2,531,600 for 'HAM, WATER ADDED, COOKED, FROZEN, SLICED, 2-LB', $1,191,200 for '2 POUND FROZEN HAM SLICED' (I linked that one immediately below), $351,807 for 'REPLACE AND UPGRADE THE DUMBWAITER, $1,562,568 for 'MOZZARELLA CHEESE'... and so on. In response, the U.S. Dept. of Agriculture posted the following clarifying information:
The references to "2 pound frozen ham sliced" are to the sizes of the packaging. Press reports suggesting that the Recovery Act spent $1.191 ...Continue reading
Stimulus Funds Premium Pork?
I'm assuming that either there's an error somewhere, or this is really, really good ham. From Recovery.gov's new recipient data comes this contract, which if I'm reading it right, spends $1,191,200 for "2 POUND FROZEN HAM SLICED."
That seems like an awful lot for ham--even sliced ham. Just a hunch, but they're probably buying tens and tens of thousands of 2 pound frozen hams sliced, but of course that's not apparent from the linked entry.
I just got done writing up some cautionary tales about why one can never take federal ...
Continue readingNew Data from Recovery.gov
The office of Vice President Joe Biden sent out a statement with links to new Recovery maps:
The new map detailing how states are putting Recovery Act funds to work can be viewed here. The state map shows the amount of money that the Recovery Act has provided for each state (announced), the amount each state is putting to work (obligated) and the amount actually paid out (outlays). Visitors can click on a given state to view the spending in more detail.The new series of maps detailing how Recovery Act funds are moving out to contractors, grantees and loan ...
Continue reading
PMA Group is gone, but earmark influence persists
Open notebook: Following stimulus contracts
Recovery.gov might not be useful yet for "following every penny" of stimulus spending, but with a telephone, Google, USASpending.gov and some luck it might not be that hard. Pretty much at random, I picked out a bunch of congressional press releases touting stimulus dollars going to local communities, and started making calls. Here's some notes on where one inquiry led me.
Rep. Kathy Dahlkemper of Pennsylvania's 3rd district (roughly the northwest corner of the state) put this press release on her Web site on March 24, announcing that, "The Mercer County Housing Authority is slated to ...
Continue reading
59063
