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2Day in #OpenGov 10/6/2011

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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:

Super Committee 
  • Foreign nations are getting in on the race to influence members of the Super Committee. Each member of the committee has met with at least one foreign lobbyist in the past year. They have also received more than $50,000 in contributions directly from foreign lobbyists this cycle. (POGO)
Campaign Finance
  • It appears likely that Super PACs will not have to disclose the details of their fundraising until well after the first votes have been cast to decide the Republican nominee . The Iowa Caucuses are expected to take place in the dawning days of 2012, and at least 4 additional contests will be held before the January 31st filing deadline. (Washington Post)
  • A new FEC ruling will make it easier for PACs to combine the functions of traditional and Super PACs. The ruling allows these hybrid PACs to raise unlimited funds for independent expenditures, provided they store that money in a separate bank account from the money they raise for direct donations to candidates. (Roll Call)
  • About one Super PAC has been formed every day since late September, easily outpacing numbers for the 2010 election cycle. The PACs are expected to spend significantly more than in 2010 as well. (Politico)
Government and Ethics
  • A group of House Democrats are calling for a Congressional investigation into ethics and conflict-of-interest questions that have been floating around Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas. The issues came to light after Justice Thomas filed financial disclosure papers, reporting more than $1.5 million in previously undisclosed income that his wife has earned since 1997. (Politico)
  • Sunlight Labs is getting some love for Influence Explorer. The site is making it easier to search for public comments on proposed regulations posted on regulations.gov. (Federal Computer Week)
Lobbying
  • OMB released new guidelines today that will preclude registered lobbyists from being appointed to sit on federal boards and commissions. Lobbyists have come out against the decision, claiming it will limit access to their expertise. (Roll Call)
  • K Street is losing a major funding stream, as trade deals with Colombia, Panama, and South Korea are expected to be ratified by Congress soon. The three countries have spent at least $15 million on lobbying, legal, and PR fees related to the Free Trade Agreements since 2006. (The Hill)

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2Day in #OpenGov 10/5/2011

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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:

Campaign Finance
  • Third quarter fundraising reports are due soon, and early numbers are starting to leak. Rick Perry has exceeded predictions and raised around $17 million for the quarter, nearly matching Mitt Romney's second quarter take. (National Journal)
  • Mitt Romney, who has kept expectations low for his third quarter fundraising haul, has some very strong supporters. At least 50 donors, who have already contributed the maximum allowed amount to his presidential campaign, have also given princely sums to the Super PAC fighting for his election. (Yahoo/AP)
  • House Majority Leader Eric Cantor might soon get some super support of his own. Reports suggest that Cantor's deputy chief of staff is departing to start a Super PAC dedicated to raising the Congressman's national profile in advance of a possible Vice Presidential run. (National Journal)
Revolving Door
  • The government relations and public affairs firm Cornerstone Government Affairs LLC is opening new offices in Houston, Texas and Jackson, Mississippi. Representative John Culberson's (R-TX) chief of staff, Tony Essalih, has been hired to run the Houston office. (National Journal)
  • Susan Collins (R-ME) will see Molly Wilkinson, a senior member of her staff, move to Regions Bank. Wilkinson will serve as a senior vice president of government affairs for the bank. (Federal Computer Week)
  • The Glover Park Group is losing Aoife McCarthy, a director, to government service. She will join the Corporation for National and Community Service as its press secretary. (National Journal)
Government
  • The White House's online petition site, We The People, has proved so popular in its first week that the administration has quadrupled the number of signatures required for a petition to qualify for a response. The site is considered part of the Obama administration's transparency efforts. (Nextgov)
State and Local
  • More than 1 million people have signed up for digital updates from the Indiana state government. The program, launched in 2008, sends out monthly updates via email and text messaging services. (GovTech)
  • A California state senator is preparing to propose legislation that would expand the number of people subject to the state's revolving door provision. Members of the public appointed to serve on boards would have to wait twelve months after terminating their service before lobbying former colleagues. (Lobby Comply)

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2Day in #OpenGov 10/4/2011

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Here is Tuesday's look at transparency-related news items, congressional committee hearings, transparency-related bills introduced in Congress, and transparency-related events. News Roundup:

Government
  • The Senate is battling over cuts to the GAO that might force the agency to downsize its workforce. Opponents argue that cuts will hinder the GAO's ability to identify waste, fraud, and abuse in Federal spending. (ExecutiveGov)
  • After a 10 year process, the National Archives and Records Administration has completed development of their Electronic Records Archives. The ERA was designed to collect and archive electronic records created by Federal agencies. IBM has won a contract to operate and maintain the system. (Federal Computer Week)
Revolving Door
  • One of John Kerry's (D-MA) top foreign policy aides, Frank Lowenstein, has stepped down to join the Podesta Group. He will work primarily with international clients, reflecting the Podesta Group's recent growth in foreign markets. (New York Times)
  • A former staffer to House Speaker John Boehner, Jay Cranford, is leaving the House to become a name partner at boutique lobbying firm Clark Lytle Geduldig & Cranford. The firm is primarily known for its financial services work. Cranford is expected to focus on expanding their energy and technology practice. (National Journal)
State and Local
  • Legislators rate lobbyists as an important source of information, although they prefer to look to their legislative leaders, staff, and colleagues first, according to data compiled by the National Conference of State Legislatures. (Lobby Comply and NCSL)
  • Alaskan lobbyists will only be able to donate to candidates that represent them under new redistricting alignments, according to a decision by the Alaskan Public Offices Commission. This will prevent lobbyists whose districts are shifting  from donating in multiple races.  (Lobby Comply)

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2Day in #OpenGov 10/3/2011

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Here is Monday's look at the week's transparency-related news items, congressional committee hearings, transparency-related bills introduced in Congress, and transparency-related events. News Roundup:

Super Committee 
  • The Super Committee has grown increasingly opaque, refusing to share details of their meetings with the press and public. Lobbyists, however, are being kept in the loop by aides to committee members. (Politico)
Government
  • The Congressional Budget Office has released a cost estimate for the DATA act. According to the report, the act would cost $575 million over five years to implement. (Federal Computer Week)
  • One of the FEC's most respected experts, Bob Biersack, has retired after 30 years with the commission. Biersack has served in a variety of positions during his tenure, but is known as the FEC's unofficial data guru and was instrumental in creating the agency's electronic filing system. (Roll Call)
  • A new poll shows that most Americans trust their local governments to handle local issues, a marked contrast with respondents low confidence in the Federal government. (Politico)
  • Members of the whistleblower community gathered last week for the 2011 Washington Whistleblower Assembly. The meeting focused on ways to protect and increase whistleblower protections. To learn more about the current discussion surrounding whistleblowing take a look at our ACT event on the subject  (POGO)

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