In shutting down the government, the nation's lawmakers also guaranteed a little less surveillance on themselves.
Among the many agencies that will not be open for business as long as the political and budgetary stalemate continues is the Federal Election Commission, an agency created after the Watergate scandal. The idea was to reduce the possibilities of corruption in politics by making campaign donations more transparent.
For the foreseeable future at least, those donations will be taking place under a cloak of darkness.
Because the FEC's electronic filing system won't necessarily be available during the shutdown, the public will not be able to view the latest filings and filers will be free to ignore existing deadlines. Candidates will have until 24 hours after the government reopens to file campaign finance reports due during the shutdown. That could mean an extension for just about every candidate for federal office--there are two major filing deadlines fall this month. It also raises the possibility that some voters may not know the whole story about who's trying to influence their vote until after they go to the polls.
DeMint leads from afar in Obamacare fight
"I personally believe I can do a lot more on the outside than I can on the inside," former Sen. Jim DeMint, R-S.C., (pictured right) told reporters concerning his decision to leave his Senate post for the helm the conservative Heritage Foundation in December of last year.
While he may no longer claim a seat on the floor of the upper chamber, the 62 year old who was a tea partier before there was a Tea Party is still very much at the center of the congressional scrum over the Affordable Care Act and budget negotiations.
In his time ...
Continue readingRulemaking in the dark: Little disclosure when big food lobbies the FDA
Last January, when the Food and Drug Administration released strict new rules for ensuring the cleanliness of food production, distribution and warehousing facilities, the American Bakers Association crowed in a press release that they'd "won a major victory" for its members. They had--the proposed rules wouldn't apply to many of their warehouses.
Not mentioned in that press release was the person who helped the ABA achieve the win: Miriam Guggenheim, a food policy focused attorney with Covington and Burling. Though she has not been registered as a lobbyist since 2010--before Congress passed the Food Safety Modernization Act--her online ...
Continue readingFeds have no policy on posting meetings
While the federal government has extensive rules about how its regulatory agencies makes rules--with notices, publication schedules and comment periods--there is no government-wide policy for providing information to the public about meetings between executive branch officials and private interests. These contacts between regulators those seeking to influence them--refered to as ex parte meetings--can have a profound effect on the final shape of the rules that govern everything from disposing of trash to disclosing positions in complex derivatives. Yet there is no uniform requirement to make information about these meetings available to the public, let alone whether or not agencies must ...
Continue readingStar Wars: Major Players in Space Industry Battle Over Launch Pad Lease
The biggest challenges that commercial space flight companies Blue Origin and Spacex face this fall may not take place outside of the stratosphere, but rather right here on Earth.
As reported by the Waco Tribune, these two players of the fledgling industry are the sole competitors for a NASA contract to lease the historic Launch Pad 39a -- a part of the John F Kennedy Space Center in Florida that was the point of departure for dozens of Space Shuttle missions. A review of the influence profiles of these companies points to a heavyweight showdown, as both groups have serious financial ...
Continue readingEnding Spending readies air war in Virginia governor’s race
Ending Spending, a group bankrolled by Chicago Cubs owner Joe Ricketts that spent $13 million in the last election, is gearing up in the Virginia Senate race.
Continue readingPolitical Party Time turns the tables
After a half-decade cataloguing political fundraising invitations (nearly 18,000 and counting!), the Sunlight Foundation decided to throw a bash of our own Tuesday to celebrate the fifth anniversary of our Political Party Time site.
Some of Party Time's most loyal fans -- dozens of journalists and civic activists who use our data to shine light on money and influence in politics -- joined us to toast Party Time and tell favorite war stories.
"I'd like to thank Political Party Time for making sure I can never visit the city of Charlotte, N.C. ever again," quipped Andy Sullivan of Reuters, referring to the site of the 2012 Democratic National Convention. "Thanks to the data you provided, I wrote a story that so angered the host committee of the DNC (Democratic National Committee) that I'm no longer welcome there."
Continue readingFive years of Political Party Time
We’ve told you before about the innovative ways our elected representatives raise cash: from assault rifle raffles to March Madness fund-a-thons to swanky out-of-town retreats. But taking a step back from all the invites shows some interesting trends. Check the graphic below, and see more dataviz on our 18,000 political fundraising invitations after the jump!
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Will NFL lobby team sack proposal to tax the league?
Fiscally-minded senators and the K Street reps of some of the country's most popular professional sporting leagues may be lacing up the cleats for a battle over the tax-exempt status of these groups.
Bloomberg News is reporting that budget hawk Sen. Tom Coburn, R-Okla., is leading a push to challenge the 501(c)6 status of groups like the National Football League, the National Hockey League and the Professional Golfers Association -- citing the need to close loopholes in the tax code and the $109 million that taxing these groups would add to the federal budget over ten years. However ...
Continue readingStealthy Wealthy: A Texas donor plays state PACs
W.E. "Ed" Bosarge Jr. isn't a household name, but the $2 million he gave in federal contributions and the $1.2 million more he chipped in to state level political action committees--much of it in his home state of Texas--in the 2011-2012 election cycle have made him well known to politicians. So well known, in fact, that a pair of bills pending in the Texas House or Representatives would commend him and his wife Marie Taylor Bosarge on their accomplishments.
A financial wizard who got his start working flight control systems for Saturn rockets, Bosarge has interests beyond ...
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