The tragic explosion north of Waco, Texas, was preceded by years of lax oversight. As Reported by Bloomberg, OSHA had not inspected Adair Grain’s West Fertilizer Company facility since 1985. Mark Drajem and Jack Kaskey also reported that when other agencies—including the U.S. Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration and the Environmental Protection Agency—did swing by, they found violations and issued thousands of dollars in fines. With a dubious track record, how did the Texas plant avoid regulation?
Part of the blame rests with Congress and the special interests that target it. Consider ...
Continue readingDarkmarks: Defense programs can have one beneficiary
By making a programmatic request asking for additional funding for line 3 of the Army aircraft procurement budget, a member... View Article
Continue readingWhy are efforts to regulate potentially hazardous plastics stalled?
In late 2009, when Lisa Jackson, at the time President Barack Obama's new head of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), invoked a long-existing but never-before-used power to to create a list of "chemicals of concern," the administration appeared to be putting chemical companies on notice that it planned to be aggressive about regulating risks from exposure to the industry's product. Jackson's list included eight of the common plasticizers known as "phthalates" that have been shown to cause to reproductive abnormalities in animal studies and that have also been linked to health problems in humans. They are used ...
Pro-CISPA forces spend 140 times more lobbying than opponents
Interests backing a controversial cyber security bill up for a vote in the House today have a big edge in campaign donations and lobbying reserves. But opponents have President Barack Obama's veto pen.
Continue readingWhy pro-gun groups still have the upper hand in Congress
To understand why the Senate voted today to reject a bipartisan deal on gun control, despite emotional -- and heavily broadcast appeals -- by parents of children gunned down in the Newtown, Conn. massacre, it helps to take a look at the influence profiles of groups on both sides of the debate.
Although Mayors Against Illegal Guns, one of the groups pressing for stricter regulation of firearms, dominated the airwaves in the weeks leading up to the vote, groups opposed to such measures have spent far more money over a far longer period of time to win friends and intimidate people on ...
Continue readingDarkmarks: Has Congress found a way to fund pet projects?
The instructions are written in obscure Washingtonese that only an insider could understand: “Please include the applicable account and line... View Article
Continue readingThe District’s Campaign Finance Records on Influence Explorer
Just in time for next week's special city council election, Sunlight is sneak-previewing our latest addition to Influence Explorer — DC campaign finance data — as well as our wish list for how it can be made better.
GOP dominates list of top House fundraisers in 2013
On the heels of the most expensive campaign in the nation's history, members of the House and the candidates who want to replace them are already raking in cash for the 2014 mid-terms. In the first three months of 2013, they collected a total of $68 million, records just submitted to the Federal Election Commission show.
Most of the biggest fundraisers are party leaders, topped by House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, and Majority Leader Eric Cantor, R-Va. Rep. Jack Kingston, R-Ga., a senior member of the powerful House Appropriations Committee, came in third. But Aaron Schock, a three-term Illinois ...
Looking back at mega donor Bob Perry’s political giving
Houston homebuilder Bob Perry, who passed away over the weekend at the age of 80, poured millions into conservative causes during his lifetime. He was part of an elite cohort of people able to write million-dollar checks, and over the course of his lifetime contributed to candidates, PACs, party committees and super PACs. Overall, he contributed $53 million, according to data in Influence Explorer.
Though he was overshadowed in the 2012 campaign by megadonors Sheldon and Miriam Adelson, there were times during the contest when Perry “lead the pack” of super PAC donors, giving hefty amounts to Restore Our Future ...
Continue readingTax preparers lobby heavily against simple filing
As Americans struggle through complex rules and messy paperwork to meet today's tax deadline, it might be somewhat discomforting to know that some companies are lobbying against simplifying the arduous process.
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