Here is Thursday's look at transparency-related news items, congressional committee hearings, transparency-related bills introduced in Congress, and transparency-related events. News Roundup:
Campaign Finance
- Reform groups renewed their request for the IRS to investigate if nonprofits that spend millions on political activities are eligible for their tax-exempt status. In a letter, the groups called out organizations including Americans Elect and Crossroads GPS. (Roll Call $)
- A new report from POGO and CRP found that companies involved in the Joint Strike Fighter program contributed almost twice as much money to lawmakers who joined the newly-formed Joint Strike Fighter Caucus than they did to other lawmakers. (Government Executive)
- The DCCC has charted an aggressive fundraising course heading into 2012. They recently erased $19 million in debt and are almost debt free as they prepare to spend on 2012 races. (Politico)
Government
- A small language change in the defense bill sparked a large lobbying battle this week. The edit, backed by Florida lawmakers and lobbyists for Odyssey Marine Explorations, would have made it easier for the company to claim $500 million worth of treasure from a shipwreck. The Spanish government and the Obama administration opposed the language and it was eventually removed. (Washington Post)
- Code for America got a $1.5 million grant from Google to continue their efforts at making governments work better for people. (Government Technology)
State and Local
- California's online campaign finance database has been offline for the past two weeks and the Secretary of State doesn't know when it will be back up. (Lobby Comply)
- A Missouri State Representative introduced a wide ranging ethics bill that would ban lobbyist gifts, strictly limit campaign contributions, and prohibit legislators from working as political consultants. (Lobby Comply)
2Day in #OpenGov 12/14/2011
Here is Wednesday's look at transparency-related news items, congressional committee hearings, transparency-related bills introduced in Congress, and transparency-related events. News Roundup: Government
- A new bill, the Whistleblower Improvement Act of 2011, will actually gut protections for whistleblowers included in the Dodd-Frank Act. (POGO)
- The Ohio House of Representatives approved a bill that would set criminal penalties for those misusing taxpayer money for political purposes. (Lobby Comply)
- Congress has blocked an Obama administration proposal that would have required companies to disclose people and organizations that they support politically when bidding for contracts. (Federal Computer Week)
Campaign Finance
- A Wisconsin campaign finance law that caps donations to state PACs at $10,000 has been ruled illegal by a circuit court. (Courthouse News)
- California is the first state in the nation to allow campaign contributions via text message. (Courthouse News)
- Newt Gingrich is getting some Super PAC support from a new group, Winning Our Future. The PAC is being formed by a longtime fundraiser for Gingrich's American Solutions for Winning the Future organization. (Politico)
Revolving Door
- The New Democrat Coalition is losing their press secretary to K Street. Natalie Thorpe Munoz is joining SKDKnickerbocker as a senior associate. (National Journal)
2Day in #OpenGov 12/13/2011
Here is the Tuesday's take on transparency-related news items, congressional committee hearings, transparency-related bills introduced in Congress, and transparency-related events. News Roundup: Access to Information
- The US recently released a new data management tool as part of their efforts to take data.gov global. The tool allows governments to upload, fact check, and manage their data. The next step is to build a visual component for the tool. (Executive Gov)
- A hackathon held last weekend in San Francisco aimed to promote open data and transparency in government. One notable tool that emerged would send out legislative alerts via text message. (Government Technology)
- The Cook County, Illinois deputy director of new media goes into detail about the launch of the county's open data portal, data.cookcountyil.gov, on Gov 2.0 Radio. (GovFresh)
Campaign Finance
- Democrats in the House and Senate have introduced resolutions that would blunt the Supreme Court's Citizens United decision and exclude corporations from "the rights given to natural persons." (Lobby Comply)
- A new PAC has emerged with a decidedly non partisan goal. The WUFPAC aims to elect women under the age of 40 to office, regardless of their party affiliation. (Roll Call $)
- Democrats and Republicans have accepted large contributions from MF Global, the bankrupt brokerage firm formerly headed by Ex-New Jersey Governor John Corzine (D). (Roll Call $)
International
- The European Commission announced the creation of an Open Data Strategy. The move comes after the UK and France have embraced open data initiatives. (techPresident)
2Day in #OpenGov 12/12/2011
Here is the week's first look at transparency-related news items, congressional committee hearings, transparency-related bills introduced in Congress, and transparency-related events. News Roundup: Lobbying
- Last year, the Obama administration pledged to strengthen regulations on for-profit colleges. The industry responded by spending $16 million to lobby their case. The result: the Department of Education produced a weak plan that is likely to have much less impact that the administration initially planned. (New York Times)
- Former Representative and ambassador to India Tim Roemer (D-Ind.) joined public affairs firm APCO Worldwide as a senior vice president. (Roll Call $)
- The controversial Keystone XL pipeline has seen its fair share of lobbying, according to Senate records. 42 lobbying firms, associations, and companies have registered to lobby on the issue since 2009. (The Hill)
Campaign Finance
- Crossroads GPS, the outside group formed by Karl Rove, is preparing a $500,000 ad assault against Senator Ben Nelson (D-NE), who is still deciding if he will run for a third term. (National Journal)
Government
- Sen. Claire McCaskill (D-MO) released a report detailing earmarks included in this year's defense authorization bill. According to the report, the bill included 115 earmarks worth $834 million. (Washington Post)
- A new poll shows that the majority of average Americans think members of Congress have low honesty and ethical standards. The poll ranks members of Congress below telemarketers and lobbyists. (Politico)
2Day in #OpenGov 12/9/2011
Here is the week's last look at transparency-related news items, congressional committee hearings, transparency-related bills introduced in Congress, and transparency-related events. News Roundup: Campaign Finance
- Independent political groups have already spent four times as much money on the 2012 GOP primary than at the same point in 2008. (Washington Post)
- A Pro-Mitt Romney Super PAC is preparing to pump even more money into the race. The PAC will launch a $3.1 million ad assault in Iowa. (Washington Post)
Access to Information
- Rep. Darrell Issa (R-CA) created an online storehouse for information on the Justice Department's controversial Fast and Furious program. (Politico)
- Rapper and businessman Jay-Z, with an estimated net worth of $500 million, expressed support for higher taxes on wealthy Americans, provided that the government institute "open accounting" standards so the public can be sure that the money is being spent on good causes. (Politico)
- House Republicans are concerned that the Obama administration is refusing to turn over documents relating to Supreme Court Justice Elena Kagan's role working on legal strategy related to the administration's health care law when she was Solicitor General. Conservative groups want Justice Kagan to recuse herself from ruling on health care cases. (Washington Times)
Lobbying
- Two senior hill aides at the center of the fight between Hollywood and Silicon Valley over online piracy legislation are stepping through the revolving door and heading for K street. Former aides to Lamar Smith (R-TX) and the Senate Judiciary Committee minority staff are joining the government affairs offices of two major media organizations. (Politico)
- The Hawaii Ethical Lobbying Association exists to promote ethics in lobbying and good government in the state. (Lobby Comply)
2Day in #OpenGov 12/8/2011
Here is Thursday's look at transparency-related news items, congressional committee hearings, transparency-related bills introduced in Congress, and transparency-related events. News Roundup: Government
- White House officials, along with several members of Congress, are fighting to maintain the E-Gov fund's budget and ensure that sites such as Data.gov don't go dark. (Politico)
- Last night, at the first ever Congressional Hackathon, House Minority Whip Steny Hoyer (D-MD) argued that Thomas.gov should be contain more data that is easily accessible by social media and third party applications. (GovFresh)
- Rep. Darrell Issa (R-CA) and Senator Ron Wyden (D-OR) are expected to release alternative legislation to counter the Stop Online Privacy Act. SOPA is supported by traditional media groups and other copyright and trademark owners, but vehemently opposed by tech companies, venture capitalists, and privacy advocates. (National Journal)
Campaign Finance
- Some vulnerable centrist Democratic Senators may have trouble raising money and support from progressive groups. This could cause headaches for the Democratic party as they try to maintain control of the Senate. (Politico)
- This time of year America is focused on two things: Football and the holidays. Lawmakers are no different and several are hosting specially themed fundraisers. (National Journal)
State and Local
- A new project, Chicago Lobbyists, helps visualize all interactions and activities between lobbyists and the city of Chicago. Its developer touts the site's potential to "inform and change people's perception of government and lobbyists". The city is cooperating with the project. (GovFresh)
- An federal district court judge has ruled that a blogger does not have the same protections, related to alleged defamatory statements, as a traditional journalist under Oregon law. The judge interpreted the law in question to exclude "internet blogs" from protected media. (techPresident)
2Day in #OpenGov 12/7/2011
Here is Wednesday's look at transparency-related news items, congressional committee hearings, transparency-related bills introduced in Congress, and transparency-related events. News Roundup: Government
- Senators Claire McCaskill (D-MO) and Jim Webb (D-VA) are pushing the Non-Federal Employee Whistleblower Protection Act. The act, modeled after data transparency provisions in the 2009 recovery act, aims to extend whistleblower protections to federal contractors. (Government Executive)
- For the first time, Massachusetts will make hundreds of boxes of documents from Mitt Romney's tenure as governor available to the public. The move comes after it was revealed that Romney authorized the destruction of many electronic records at the end of his term. (Yahoo/AP)
Lobbying
- Azerbaijan is getting some support in Washington through a new nonprofit dedicating to supporting the country. The Azerbaijan American Alliance is set to provide a counter balance to the Armenian-American Lobby. The two countries have been clashing over disputed territory since the 1990's. (The Hill)
- The revolving door is spinning this week. Notably, the House Judiciary Committee is losing its deputy chief of staff to the National Music Publishers Association and a former general counsel for the DoD's Contract Audit Agency is joining Venable's government contracts practice. (The Hill)
Campaign Finance
- House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-VA) holds an annual Festivus fundraiser. This year, a group from Occupy Wall Street aired their grievances, a major component of the Seinfeld-popularized holiday, by protesting outside the fundraiser's venue. (National Journal)
- The Majority PAC, focused on elected Senate Democrats, intends to be a major piece of the 2012 puzzle. They have a big fundraiser scheduled, featuring more than 20 Senators as headliners. (Politico)
State and Local
- The Los Angeles, CA City Council is scheduled to vote on a resolution calling for the US Congress to amend the constitution to declare that money does not equal speech. The resolution is in response to the Citizens United Supreme Court Decision. (Lobby Comply)
- The Washington, DC Council took a first vote on ethics reform legislation yesterday. The bill, which has faced significant criticism, will likely be amended before a final vote sometime before the new year. (DCist)
2Day in #OpenGov 12/6/2011
Here is the Tuesday's take on transparency-related news items, congressional committee hearings, transparency-related bills introduced in Congress, and transparency-related events. News Roundup: Access to Information
- The United States and India teamed up in an effort to make the open data platform data.gov open source. There are currently 28 international open data platforms, the effort aims to help more countries introduce their own platforms. (O'Reilly Radar)
- Senators Dick Durbin (D-Ill) and Chuck Grassley (R-IA) introduced a bill to allow Supreme Court proceedings to be televised. The Senate Judiciary Committee subcommittee on Administrative Oversight and the Courts is holding a hearing on the bill today. (Roll Call $)
- Sarah Kaufman, one of the driving forces behind the New York City Metropolitan Transportation Authority's embrace of open data and partnerships with third party software developers, is leaving for a position at New York University. (techPresident)
- Good-government groups called for the Super Committee to retroactively embrace transparency by posting its unreleased proposals online for the public to vet. (Politico)
Lobbying
- New recordings show representatives of one of Britain's largest lobbying firms boasting about its use of "dark arts" to bury bad coverage and influence public opinion. Notably, they suggested that they could manipulate Google results to hide coverage of human rights violations. (The Independent)
- Billions of dollars worth of tax breaks and credits are set to expire this month. Lobbyists are working overtime to try and squeeze them through before the end of the year. (Politico)
Campaign Finance
- Newt Gingrich is looking to match his fundraising to his rising poll numbers. In order to compete past the early state contests Gingrich will have to raise significant funds. He is setting his sights on K street and Manhattan to achieve this goal. (New York Times)
- A Super PAC, previously dedicated to electing Herman Cain, is searching for a new candidate to support with their unlimited fundraising abilities. As long as they notify the FEC, the 9-9-9 Fund can easily support a new candidate. (Politico)
2Day in #OpenGov 12/5/2011
Here is the week's first look at transparency-related news items, congressional committee hearings, transparency-related bills introduced in Congress, and transparency-related events. News Roundup: Government
- Several federal agencies have recently started blogs on the Tumblr platform. Agencies with successful Tumblr blogs include the GSA, the departments of Defense and State, the Peace Corps, the National Archives, and the National Endowment for the Humanities. (Federal Computer Week)
- A new dashboard created by Expert Labs, a nonprofit, ranks 125 federal agencies based on their public engagement via Twitter. (Nextgov)
- The Obama administration launched a new dashboard to track priority infrastructure projects. (Federal Times)
State and Local
- The American Legislative Exchange Council creates model legislation that is introduced, and sometimes passed, in states around the country. ALEC does its best to hide information about its 300 corporate, think tank, and trade group members, who fund 99% of the group's yearly activities. (Business Week)
- Sacramento County, CA launched a new website in November that aims to help residents stay informed and connected with elected officials. (Government Technology)
- Maryland joined California in allowing campaign contributions via text message. Contributions are limited to $10 per message. The State Board of Elections' director hopes that the change will allow more people to give small donations. (Lobby Comply)
International
- India is asking internet companies, notably Facebook and Google, to screen user generated content and "remove disparaging, inflammatory or defamatory content before it goes online." The companies are expected to argue that the request is unfeasible. (Yahoo/ The Atlantic)
2Day in #OpenGov 12/2/2011
It's Friday! Celebrate the end of the week with a look at transparency-related news items, congressional committee hearings, transparency-related bills introduced in Congress, and transparency-related events. News Roundup: Government
- At a hearing to discuss the STOCK act, experts outlined a number of ways to strengthen the bill and suggested that it might not even be necessary. They were unanimous in calling for an online searchable database of Congressional stock trades. (Roll Call $)
- Conflicting reports about the amount of money the US government spends on nuclear weapons programs have made one thing clear: the government has never been fully open about the costs associated with them. (POGO)
- Opinion: Fix government by creating a new "user interface" for it. (Wall Street Journal)
Campaign Finance
- Political groups have already spent at least $35 million on the 2012 election and related policy issues. Spending is only expected to increase as the election draws closer. (The Hill)
- Sen. Scott Brown (R-MA) is turning to Wall street and K street for financial help fending off Elizabeth Warren, his 2012 challenger. (iWatchNews)
- The FEC deadlocked on a question of how closely Super PACs and members of Congress are allowed to work together on campaign ads. The non-decision is likely to turn lawmakers off from coordinating too closely with outside groups on advertisements. (National Journal)
- The FEC did decide that members of Congress are not allowed to raise and spend unlimited amounts on behalf of other candidates. The commission unanimously rejected a request by Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah) to use his leadership PAC as a Super PAC. (National Journal)
Lobbying
- This week, Sen. Roy Blunt (R-MO) expressed concern about the way federal regulators treated AT&T's efforts to merge with T-Mobile. It was revealed yesterday that Blunt's son is registered to lobby for AT&T in Missouri. (National Journal)
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