Earlier this week, Bob Biersack with the Federal Elections Commission detailed the upcoming release of new campaign finance data by the Federal Election Commission. The anticipated release that is scheduled for next week will contain near-real time independent expenditure data and electioneering communication data. Biersack was careful to identify ...
Real Time Investigations
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FEC plans real-time release of campaign spending data By Ryan Sibley Sep 2, 2010 6:08 p.m.
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Who hosted the John Campbell fundraiser? By Keenan Steiner Sep 2, 2010 4:54 p.m.
Yesterday, we reported that one of the fundraisers held by Rep. John Campbell, R-Calif., during the 10-day period under scrutiny by the independent ethics board, was at the Capitol Hill townhouse owned by Mike Legg and Christopher Perkins. The Campbell event was planned for Dec. 9 at 123 D St., SE,...
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With luxury suite, Crapo capitalizes on Boise State football By Keenan Steiner Sep 2, 2010 2:12 p.m.
With Boise State, an Idaho school which, some observers say could win college football’s national championship this year, coming to the D.C. area to play its season opener on national television Monday night, Sen. Mike Crapo’s, R-Idaho, campaign team saw a chance to add to his war...
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Fundraisers for three lawmakers stir up ethics investigation By Keenan Steiner Sep 1, 2010 3:54 p.m.
The three congressmen that the Office of Congressional Ethics recommended for investigation into whether they broke ethics rules around the time of the Financial Regulatory Reform bill late last year each attended multiple Capitol Hill fundraisers on the days leading up to crucial votes on the...
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Reid fundraises at offices of solar energy company By Nancy Watzman Aug 31, 2010 11:19 a.m.
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D., Nev., is scheduled to be in California fundraising this Thursday at the Oakland offices of BrightSource Energy — a solar energy firm that earlier this year secured $1.37 billion in federal loan guarantees to build a massive solar energy complex in...
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At NRA meet-and-greet, GOP candidate wooed skeptical conservatives By Keenan Steiner Aug 27, 2010 11:43 a.m.
Kansas GOP candidate for Congress Kevin Yoder, whose pro-gun and anti-abortion credentials have been put into question by some, courted a conservative crowd at a meet-and-greet event at National Rifle Association offices Wednesday. Though the invitation did not expressly ask for donations, unlike...
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Everyone and their plumber forming independent expenditure committees By Ryan Sibley Aug 26, 2010 11:58 a.m.
Everyone wants in on the unlimited fun in this post-Citizens United world. Even Joe the Plumber—legally known as Samuel Joseph Worzelbacher—has formed an independent expenditure only committee. Now, in addition to Joe and several other new IE committee registrants, a Political Action Committee, unconnected to any candidate, has asked the ...
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Mr. Yoder goes to Washington–for NRA meet and greet By Nancy Watzman Aug 24, 2010 5:38 p.m.
At a time when most Members of Congress have fled the capital city for the hinterlands, Kevin Yoder, who is running an anti-Washington themed campaign for an open seat in Kansas’ third district, is coming to the muggy town for a meet-and-greet–”contributions welcome but not...
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DC cash fuels close primaries in Alaska, Arizona and Florida By Keenan Steiner Aug 24, 2010 11:01 a.m.
*In today’s GOP primary, it’s a hot battle between two of Alaska’s political lineages: the old-school, pork-barrelling Stevenites and Government-lite Palinites. Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, a protégé of the late Ted Stevens with a big war chest, nearly $450,000 of it raised in...
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My colleague @ryansibley has tracked down more Independent Expenditure Committees at the FEC -- list is here: http://bit.ly/c2dPbS
bill_allison Aug 20, 2010 4:45 p.m. -
Minnesota disclosure rules work, Target's contribution revealed By Ryan Sibley Aug 19, 2010 11:33 a.m.
When Target made that controversial $150,000 donation in July to a conservative political group, they were able to do so because of new rules set in place by Supreme Court's ruling in the Citizens United case.
Consumer Safety Agency Plans Crowdsourcing Database
By Laurel Adams Sep 3, 2010 11:36 a.m.Over the objections of manufacturers, the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) will launch a searchable, online database in March that collects consumer complaints about harmful or dangerous products.
The new crowdsourcing tool at www.SaferProducts.gov will require consumers to describe the harm caused by a product, to identify the manufacturer, and to attest that their complaint is accurate. Currently, most consumer complaints about a safety issue remain confidential unless the CPSC decides that a recall is merited.
“This will really beef up research and data we have on public safety,” says Nancy Cowles of Kids In Danger, a child protection group. The database, which Congress mandated in a 2008 law, will let consumers search for information by product name, type of harm, or manufacturer. It will also make it harder for companies to hide complaints about faulty products, Cowles said.
Read all about itLobbying dollars continue to flow toward health care reform
By Sarah Dorsey Aug 31, 2010 12:22 p.m.The President signed the health care reform bill in March, but over $125 million in lobbying dollars continues to flow to the issue, lobbying disclosure forms show. Total dollars spent lobbying on health care issues remained high in the three months after the reform bill was passed, dipping by only $16 million since the first quarter of the year.
State insurance commissioners are currently working out the details that will shape one of the first regulatory battles of health care reform: what percent of premiums health insurers must spend on patient care. And the health care industry is taking note. In the second quarter of 2010, more than 40 organizations lobbied Congress, the White House and the Department of Health and Human Services on this issue.
The new law requires large insurance plans to spend a minimum of 85 cents of every dollar on medical care, as opposed to administrative and other costs, such as advertising, employee salaries and profit. Small group and individual plans must meet a lower standard - 80 cents on the dollar. It's called the "medical loss ratio" in industry jargon.
Read all about itMaxine Waters exploits FEC rules to raise big bucks from California politicians
By Lindsay Young Aug 25, 2010 10:37 a.m.Longtime Democratic lawmaker Maxine Waters has perfected an unusual tactic for fundraising over the years – getting candidates, including some of California’s most prominent political figures, running for state and local offices, to pay as much as $45,000 for her endorsement on election mailers. In this election cycle alone, Waters has raised 59 percent of her campaign’s treasury through these “slate mailers.”
The Los Angeles-area representative, who faces ethics charges in the House for intervening on behalf of a bank in which her husband had invested heavily, has found a way to take large sums of money from state and federal political committees that seemingly exceed FEC contribution limits, but are perfectly legal under the federal election law. The Waters campaign did not respond to requests for comment.
Waters, who has been in Congress for more than three decades, routinely sends out mailers endorsing a list of other candidates and ballot initiatives she supports. In the 2010 cycle, she has raised more than $295,550 out of a total of $497,300 through these mailers. And getting on one of her slate mailers doesn’t come cheap—to be featured on the “Citizens for Maxine Waters” slate, candidates pay anywhere between $250 and $45,000.
Read all about itStates of Transparency: Colorado
By Sarah Dorsey Aug 20, 2010 4:49 p.m.The Open Government Directive encouraged states to put valuable government data online. In this series we're reviewing each state's efforts in this direction.
This week: Colorado
Website: www.tops.state.co.us
Read all about itDates we're watching
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Sep 14Delaware, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New Hampshire, New York, Rhode Island, Vermont and Wisconsin primaries
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Sep 18Hawaii primary
