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Graphic: Lobbyists' Honorary Gifts to Federal Officials
By Keenan Steiner Jul 12, 2011 3:14 a.m.Companies and organizations can donate an unlimited amount of money to honor officials, sponsor their conferences, and donate to their pet charities, so long as these donations are reported to the Senate. The Sunlight Foundation analyzed these filings from 2009 and 2010 and found about $50 million in honorary gifts and meeting costs. These donations can all be viewed in the interactive display below by company making the donation or by official being honored.
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IRS halts audits of donors to political committees
By Bill Allison Jul 7, 2011 6:07 p.m.The head of the Internal Revenue Service's enforcement division advised colleagues to shelve open audits of donors for 501(c)4 organizations--some of which, like Crossroads GPS and Moveon.org Civic Action, have been active in political campaigns.
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Help us identify the lobbyists
By Joshua Hatch Jul 6, 2011 10:48 a.m.On May 11, the Senate Judiciary Committee's Antitrust Subcommittee held a hearing on the proposed AT&T and T-Mobile merger. Titled "Is Humpty Dumpty Being Put Back Together Again?" the hearing was concerned with possible antitrust issues, questions of competition, access to wireless service, rising costs and the loss of jobs.
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FEC allows candidates to solicit limited contributions for Super PACs
By Aaron Bycoffe Jun 30, 2011 11:26 a.m.The Federal Election Commission voted unanimously Thursday to allow federal candidates and party officials to solicit limited contributions for Super PACs, groups that have changed the campaign-finance landscape in the past year by raising and spending unlimited amounts from indivuals, corporations and labor unions.
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Natural gas proponents powered by industry donations
By Keenan Steiner Jun 29, 2011 12:45 p.m.An investigation by the New York Times this week raised questions about whether the natural gas industry has had too much influence on policymaking by federal agencies, and whether that sway has led investors, members of Congress and others to be overly bullish about the energy source.
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One out of ten investment advisers disciplined
By Nancy Watzman Jun 29, 2011 12:19 p.m.Throughout his career as a broker-dealer, Anthony Gerard Manaia has been fired twice. He’s been the subject of 18 complaints by disgruntled investors, most of whom accused him of putting their money in risky investments without their knowledge. He’s currently under investigation for his role in a scandal around offerings by a medical financing company that a federal agency has accused of misappropriating investor funds.
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Good investor data are hard to find
By Nancy Watzman Jun 29, 2011 12:18 p.m.In a recent report to Congress, mandated by the Dodd-Frank financial overhaul law, the SEC maintained that "because selecting a broker-dealer or investment adviser is one of the most important decisions that investors face, information to help them make this choice should be easy to find, easy to use, and easy to understand."
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FEC set to vote on Super PAC fundraising by candidates
By Aaron Bycoffe Jun 29, 2011 10:32 a.m.Two new draft Advisory Opinions from the FEC's legal staff leave open the possibility that the commission will allow candidates and party officers to raise money — possibly without limits — for Super PACs.
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Lawmakers seeking laxer mortgage rules backed by housing industry dollars
By Keenan Steiner Jun 28, 2011 11:32 a.m.Legislators leading the push against a proposed mortgage lending regulation are among the biggest beneficiaries of campaign dollars from the industries decrying the rules.
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Sunlight Live to cover Tuesday's Senate hearing on finance reform
By Stevie Mathieu Jun 27, 2011 5:41 p.m.Lawmakers on the Senate's Banking Committee will discuss Tuesday how to reform the housing market, focusing on smaller banks' access to the secondary mortgage market. This market includes mortgage-backed securities, the complex financial arrangements that helped topple the U.S. Economy a few years ago.
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FEC proposes rule to allow federal officeholders, candidates to appear at Super PAC fundraisers
By Bill Allison Jun 24, 2011 11:10 a.m.In response to a request by a pair of Democratic Super PACs, the Federal Election Commission has proposed a new rule that would allow members of Congress, federal candidates and national political party officials to appear and speak at fundraisers for independent expenditure-only committees, or Super PACs, but would bar them from asking corporations, labor unions or individuals for the unlimited contributions that fueled the spending of these outside groups in the 2010 election cycle.
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American Crossroads reports contributions of $3.8 million this year
By Aaron Bycoffe Jun 24, 2011 10:10 a.m.American Crossroads, the Republican group that spent more than any other Super PAC in the 2010 elections, has raised $3.8 million since January for the 2012 election cycle, according to a report submitted to the FEC on Thursday.
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Democratic Super PAC raises individual, union, corporate and Super PAC contributions
By Bill Allison Jun 23, 2011 6:05 p.m.The House Majority PAC, one of the two Democratic Super PACs currently seeking permission from the Federal Election Commission to have federal candidates and party officials solicit funds for them, has disclosed its first batch of donors in the 2012 election cycle. Among the big givers are stalwart Democratic donors, including unions like the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees ($200,000) and the Communications Workers of America ($50,000), individuals like Fred Eychaner ($100,000) and George Soros ($75,000), trial law firm Kazan McClain Lyons Greenwood & Harley ($10,000), tech company Integrated Archive Systems ($25,000) and America's Families First Action Fund ($50,000), which is itself a Super PAC.
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Private hedge funds win registration delay
By Nancy Watzman Jun 22, 2011 1:08 p.m.Some private hedge funds won't have to register with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) until next year, winning a delay in a requirement set out in the Dodd-Frank financial overhaul law, reports the Wall Street Journal.
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