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2Day in #OpenGov 12/7/2011

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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)

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2Day in #OpenGov 12/6/2011

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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)

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