Sunlight Foundation Reporting Group

1. Unraveling Rangel

   By Bill Allison Dec 16, 2008 10:44 p.m.

   It's been interesting to watch the stories that have described multiple ethics problems for Rep. Charles Rangel, D-N.Y., the chairman of the Ways and Means Committee and someone identified by The Hill as the top fundraiser for House Democrats. The Washington Post seems to have kicked things off with a story on July 14 saying that Rangel used official House stationary to solicit big donations for his Charles B. Rangel Center for Public Service at the City College of New York. There followed a series of revelations that he wasn't properly declaring income on a vacation property he owned in the Dominican Republic; that he benefited from having four rent controlled apartments (one of which he used as an office) in violation of New York City statutes; that he used taxpayer funds to lease an expensive car; that he had all but abandoned a car he owns, a Mercedes, in the House parking garage; that he inappropriately claimed a small tax deduction for having a primary residence in Washington, D.C., (his primary residence is in New York, leaving him ineligible for the D.C. tax break) and he used his campaign committee to funnel $80,000 to his son for performing little or no work on a Web site. The New York Times report that Rangel killed a retroactive tax increase for a big donor to his Center for Public Service is the latest revelation, but it's one of about a half dozen news organizations (the Washington Post, the New York Post, Politico, and WCBS-TV being the others) that have been following the story. I would suggest looking at Glenn Reynold's archives to follow the story, but there are so many links that it's hard to keep up with (that's due to the extent of Rangel's troubles, and is not fault of Reynolds).

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2. Financial crises: How we got here

   By Bill Allison Dec 16, 2008 5:34 p.m.

   A couple of interesting stories on the financial crises. The Washington Post's Jill Drew writes a solid piece explaining how players in the financial system spread the risk from subprime mortgages through the economy. A bit light on the role played by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac (which get attention only in the accompanying interactive graphic). The article itself is probably a bit long to read online, but worth the effort.

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3. Notes and Methodology on the Tariff Suspensions

   By Bill Allison Dec 15, 2008 4:59 p.m.
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4. Time can't find an outrageous Defense earmark

   By Bill Allison Dec 11, 2008 5:19 p.m.

   Time Magazine offers its list of the top ten wasteful earmarks proposed in 2008 (note that many of these were proposed but not funded -- download a complete list of earmarks that were funded by going here.

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5. New database brings transparency to tariff bills

   By Bill Allison Dec 10, 2008 6:22 p.m.

   Though they likely won't become law in 2008, more than 800 bills that were introduced by 116 members of the House, that would cut taxes on imports by an estimated $1.1 billion, and that were specifically requested by 120 companies and organizations that would benefit from them, are still pending in the 110th Congress. The bills reduce or eliminate tariffs on everything from unicycles to storage batteries for hybrid cars, from hair fibers of the rare vicua to chemicals for making rodent poison. Of the named beneficiaries, 65 hired in-house or outside lobbyists that listed specific bills or tariff duty suspensions as issues they sought to influence, an analysis of records from the House Ways and Means Subcommittee on Trade, the U.S. International Trade Commission (USITC), and the Senate Office of Public Records shows.

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6. Blagojevich indictment visualized

   By Bill Allison Dec 9, 2008 6:58 p.m.

   I found it at the Chicago Tribune. Here's the text of it in Many Eyes, as a word tree. Interesting words to search in addition to Intercepted: Senate seat, Tribune Editorial Board, Campaign and Rezko.

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7. Feds: Illinois Governor put Obama's Senate seat up for sale

   By Bill Allison Dec 9, 2008 4:52 p.m.

   Here's the summary from Congress Daily (subscription only):

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8. Financial Bailout: Do Interests of Automakers and Members Diverge?

   By Bill Allison Dec 4, 2008 11:42 p.m.

   Reading the restructuring plan that General Motors put together makes me wonder whether, in a broad sense, there isn't an insuperable conflict of interest between members of Congress and the automakers. Consider just one aspect of the plan:

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9. Financial Bailout: Will Geithner Comply with Bloomberg's FOIA Request?

   By Bill Allison Nov 25, 2008 9:02 p.m.

   It's old news now: yesterday, President-elect Barack Obama announced he was picking Timothy Geithner, the president of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, as his Treasury Secretary.

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10. Does Congress think Detroit is a good investment?

    By Bill Allison Nov 17, 2008 11:46 p.m.

    It appears that <a href="http://apnews.myway.com/article/20081117/D94GUIK80.html">the auto bailout</a> is stalled for now, as congressional leadership and the Bush administration have come to loggerheads over providing $25 to $50 billion in loans to General Motors, Ford Motor Company, and Chrysler.

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11. OpenSecrets.org updates Financial Disclosure database

    By Bill Allison Oct 16, 2008 6:14 p.m.

    Want to know what members of Congress disclosed owning stock in Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, American International Group or Bear Stearns on their most recent financial disclosure reports?

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12. Prosecutorial Misconduct in the Stevens Trial?

    By Bill Allison Oct 2, 2008 4:37 p.m.

    The Washington Post reports that defense attorneys for Sen. Ted Stevens, R-Alaska, have accused prosecutors of withholding potentially exculpatory information. It appears that the judge hearing the case agrees:

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13. Financial bailout: Senate approves bill

    By Bill Allison Oct 2, 2008 12:46 p.m.

    Details here, vote tallies here.

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14. Financial Bailout: Nothing specific

    By Bill Allison Oct 2, 2008 12:46 a.m.

    When I read accounts like this, I'm not surprised that Congress has such low approval ratings:

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Investigations by Sunlight Foundation reporter Bill Allison