Congress
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Feb26
Sequester Shmequester: Members of Congress Hold Dozens of Fundraisers Ahead of March 1 Deadline
On Tuesday, Sens. John Barrasso (R-Wyo.) and Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.) will each attend a fundraiser hosted by lobbyists for pharmaceutical giant Amgen, a company that came under scrutiny recently for a provision in the fiscal cliff bill that could lead to a $500 million taxpayer-funded windfall.
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Jan16
Fair Elections, Other Small Donor-based Legislation Introduced in 113th Congress
Democratic Congressmen John Yarmuth (Ky.), John Sarbanes (Md.), and David Price (N.C.) each introduced public financing legislation last night. Congressman John Larson, chair of the Caucus' DARE Task Force on campaign finance and electoral reform issues, will work with the members to develop a bill that combines the best parts of all three. Rep. Yarmuth is taking over for Rep. Larson on the Fair Elections Now Act (HR 269), legislation Public Campaign has endorsed since its House introduction in 2009.
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Jan11
Clips round up for 1/11/2013
I've got your perfect Washington influence story here: Drywall safety bill passed by Congress was watered down by the industry so that *voluntary* safety regulations are decided by a committee of drywall manufacters and homebuilders. Congress pats itself on back.
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Jan09
Clips round up for 1/9/2013
Lots of press yesterday on SEC rulemaking around political disclosure. The SEC has received 322,000 public comments on the issue. LA Times: "A decision by the U.S.
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Nov20
NEW REPORT: Un-Shared Sacrifice: How ‘Fix the Debt’ Companies Buy Washington Influence & Rig the Game
Public Campaign released a new report: "Un-Shared Sacrifice: How ‘Fix the Debt’ Companies Buy Washington Influence & Rig the Game" yesterday, which details how a coalition of 95 companies, including some of the country’s largest corporations, are urging Congress to “Fix the Debt,” through a plan that mostly hurts middle class families while preserving tax breaks and windfalls for big corporations.
From the executive summary:
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Jun04
Clips Round-up for 6/4/12
An interesting BuzzFeed story on the donors not giving to Obama in 2012 that gave in 2008 - disillusionment with him and Congress, the economy, and feeling like small donations don't make a difference in the age of super PACs are all reasons given.
May17Clips Round-up for 5/17/12
Campaign Finance/Fair Elections
Will One of These Cases Be the Next Citizens United?
Mother Jones provides an outlook on a number of campaign finance cases coming before the courts.
Apr23Big Oil's First Quarter Donations
Through the beginning of 2012, as Washington debated high gas prices, the Keystone pipeline, and ending wasteful subsidies to highly profitable oil companies, Big Oil handed out big bucks to their preferred politicians.
With first quarter earnings reports set to be released this week, it’s important to look at the politicians oil companies are funding and what they might be getting in return.
Apr09Clips Round-up for 4/9/12
Public Campaign board member Ilyse Hogue has a great piece on CNN.com about last week's victories in getting Pepsi and Coke to pull out of ALEC: "These campaigns have become the embodiment of democratic principles in a country where consumer choices matter and the government is seen as too close to corporate interests."
Apr02Clips Round-up for 4/2/12
Campaign Finance
Democrat and Chronicle: Legislature shifts focus to reforms
With the budget and redistricting done, the New York legislature will move on to something else. "But the governor did say Friday that he would push for a change in the state’s campaign-finance system, which good-government groups say allows wealthy donors to have too much influence on the electoral process."