Last week, some members of Congress called for an immediate suspension of a drug testing program administered by the Department of Veterans Affairs after ABC News and the Washington Times reported that one of the side effects a specific drug that helps kick the smoking habit could possibly be suicide.
The drug Chantix, manufactured by Pfizer, has been used in programs by the Department of Veterans Affairs as a smoking cessation drug. The ABC report revealed that, "mentally distressed veterans from Iraq and Afghanistan are being recruited for government tests on pharmaceutical drugs linked to suicide and other violent side ...
Continue readingA little digging into FEC disclosures
A while back, Jim Geraghty of the Campaign Spot wrote a pair of interesting posts, the first noting that, during his 2000 campaign to unseat Rep. Bobby Rush, D-Ill., Barack Obama took "on credit card debt to finance his effort," while the second raised additional questions but seemed to put the credit card issue to rest, by quoting a New York Times article that looked at the campaign committee's finances:
When Mr. Obama decided to run for Congress in 2000 against the former Black Panther Bobby Rush, he used a $9,500 personal loan to help finance the campaign ...Continue reading
Who’s lobbying for Countrywide?
The Senate Office of Public Records database shows that one of the outside lobbying firms employed by Countrywide is Eris Group, formerly known as Bartlett, Bendall & Kadesh, LLC. Among the firm's lobbyists, (and they're currently lobbying on subprime mortgage bailout legislation) is Jennifer Bendall. The firm's Web site tells us that...
Bendall's Washington career began with the Wexler Group, a Washington, DC lobbying firm. During her time there, she took a leave of absence to return to her home state of Alabama, in order to work on the successful U.S. Senate campaign of then-Representative Richard ...Continue reading
CRP lists Countrywide’s big campaign cash recipients
The excellent post by Irene Kan, along with a list of all the members in the 110th Congress who've taken campaign cash from Countrywide's PAC, employees and their family members, is online here. Note that Sen. Chris Dodd, D-Conn., is number two on the list. Sen. Kent Conrad, D-N.D., is tied for 23d place, by my count.
Continue readingSubprime 6, 60…well, at least 13…
Glenn Reynolds notes that the Politico reports that Rep. Jeb Hensarling, R-Texas, called for a wider investigation than the one ongoing into the burgeoning Countrywide preferential loan scandal. Politico notes that, "no other Republican leader jumped on Hensarling's bandwagon Monday, and aides said they were reluctant to push forward with a probe because they didn't know what it might reveal," prompting Reynolds to write, "That's because it'll probably turn out to be more like the subprime sixty" (as opposed to the six figures currently implicated).
Sadly, personal financial disclosure forms do not require members to disclose ...
Continue readingFollowing Hastert Through the Revolving Door
Former House Speaker Dennis Hastert's days raising money for his political campaigns might come in handy when he sits down with the clients of his new employer, law and lobbying firm Dickstein Shapiro LLP.
The firm has a long list of clients in the health care sector -- an industry that provided generous support for Hastert's during his time in Congress.
According to lobbying reports filed by the Senate Office of Public Records and the firm's website, Dickstein Shapiro's current and past clients include about a dozen pharmaceutical or health care companies. The health care sector has ...
Continue readingLegislation Languishes in Congress as Miners Fight for their Benefits
Glen Charles, who had been a miner in West Virginia for 42 years, was diagnosed as having black lung, for which he received benefits under the Black Lung Act up to the time of his death in August 2005. Under federal law, surviving spouses of miners who die from the disease are eligible to continue receiving those benefits. But soon after Charles died, his checks stopped arriving, leaving Emma Charles, his 75-year-old widow, financially unstable.
She had to file a claim to continue receiving his benefits, which the Labor Department's Office of Administrative Law Judges denied.
Under current law ...
Continue readingMore tidbits from trainings
American Express says that they'll start disclosing information on their donations to 501(c) groups (trade associations, political 501(c)4s and so on) that engage in political activity, provided that the groups disclose this info to Amex:
Beginning for payments made in calendar 2008, American Express will request information regarding political contributions from trade associations, entities organized under section 501(c) 4 of the Code, and other tax exempt organizations that engage in non-deductible lobbying and political expenditures under Code section 162(e). For any such organization that receives in excess of $50,000 during the calendar year ...Continue reading
Tidbits from trainings
Lately I've been doing a lot of traveling, training reporters on using some of the campaign finance resources that Sunlight supports, and doing a lot of research in the process. I've come across some interesting stuff along the way, including this General Dynamics statement on their political contributions:
General Dynamics participates in the U.S. political process when it is in the best interests of its shareholders, businesses and employees to do so. Participation in this process ensures that the company's interests as a leading member of the defense and aerospace industries, as well as a large ...Continue reading
Contract but no Contacts: McCain Campaign Official’s Firm Collects Millions from Saudis but no Meetings with Members of Congress
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