NEWS ROUNDUP:

• Following a major corruption scandal donors withheld nearly $300 million in aid from the Ugandan government. The country will increase domestic borrowing in order to replace the shortfall. (TrustLaw)
• A group of government watchdogs is publicly opposing a request made by a bipartisan group of lawyers to roll back recently adopted changes to the Office of Congressional Ethics' rules and allow for public comment. (Roll Call)
• It's rare for the White House to miss an opportunity to collect data on citizens interested in its actions and last night's State of the Union was no different. The Citizens Response Tool for the 2013 State of the Union allowed citizens to comment on and share parts of the speech provided they cough up their email address. (Politico)
• Iraq is close to finalizing a lobbying contract with the Podesta Group. This will be the first time that Iraq has signed up with a lobbying firm in the post-Saddam Hussein world. (Politico)
• A major wholesaler of helium filled balloons is looking to secure its markets during a serious helium shortage by lobbying Washington. Helium and Balloons Across America has hired the Alpine Group to lobby on its behalf. (Public Integrity)
• President Obama's actions on campaign finance issues have failed to back up his strong rhetoric in the three years following his public criticism of the Supreme Court for its Citizens United decision. (NPR)

NEWS ROUNDUP:

• Former Representative Gabby Giffords is staffing her PAC, Americans for Responsible Solutions, with some top Democratic names. In addition to former members of her personal staff, Giffords has looked to EMILY's List, and a number of top strategists for help. (Roll Call)
• As they try to recover from the rubble of the economic collapse and their government bailout, General Motors and Chrysler are rebuilding their once-potent lobbying operations. Both have spent more than $5 million a year since 2011 to influence the government that saved them. (Politico $)
• Recently retired House Parliamentarian John Sullivan is taking a job in Google's Washington office. Sullivan, who worked in the parliamentarians office for 25 years, will serve as a policy counsel. (Politico)
• Al Jazeera America, which recently made waves by buying Al Gore's Current TV, is tuning into the lobbying game. They recently hired lobbying firm DLA Piper. (The Hill)
• A group of GPS companies, including Deere, Garmin, and Trimble, are launching the GPS Innovation Alliance this week. The group grew out of efforts to defeat wireless startup LightSquared and will lobby on a range of issues. (The Hill)
• During last night's State of the Union address, President Obama promised more transparency in the way that his administration handles counter-terrorism operations. (Huffington Post)

NEWS ROUNDUP:

• President Obama had a mixed record on transparency and accountability issues during his first four years, according to a number of experts and watchdogs. The President set a high bar in the dawning days of his administration that he did not always reach. (ProPublica)
• Haiti recently held the first hackathon ever created by and for Haitians. The event drew students,  an international team of technologists, and a members of a women's group that works with survivors of gender-based violence. (Tech President)
• A government study on the Political Intelligence industry that was authorized by the STOCK Act is due out by April 4th. Some fear that the report might lead to legislation regulating the industry. Senator Chuck Grassley (R-IA) has already expressed interest in introducing a bill. (The Hill)
• The Project on Government Oversight outlines the revolving door between the SEC and industry in a new report that looks at disclosure statements filed between 2001 and 2010. During that time more than 400 former SEC employees filed nearly 2,000 statements indicating their intent to contact the SEC. (Government Executive, POGO)
• A recent report by the National Academy of Public Administration urges the GPO to "reboot" for the digital age. According to the report, the GPO needs to focus on matters critical to digital publishing including formats, metadata, authentication, cataloging, public access, and more. (Fierce Government)
• A new draft of data protection legislation being considered in Europe includes language taken directly from American and European corporations. The language was discovered by a LobbyPlag, a watchdog project that looks for connections between legislative language and proposals pushed by interest groups. (ArsTechnica)