Sunlight Foundation Reporting Group

1. Pro Publica gets Stevens indictment online

   By Bill Allison Jul 29, 2008 7:20 p.m.

   It's available here. Looks mostly like it concerns omissions from Stevens' personal financial disclosure forms, though the big ticket item is Stevens' help for Veco Corporation allegedly in exchange for gifts. When Sunlight released our Fortune 535 project on the personal financial disclosures, we said, "...take what follows with a boulder-sized grain of salt: It's all based on information from the seriously flawed disclosure system used by members of Congress."

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2. TCS makes Milcon letters available

   By Bill Allison Jul 29, 2008 6:32 p.m.

   Last Friday, Taxpayers for Common Sense updates us on where the House is on the Appropriations process (a few weeks back the process could best be described as "nyah nyah nyah," and "I'm rubber and you're glue, whatever you say bounces off me and sticks to you,", to use the parliamentary terms favored by most members of Congress).

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3. Curious Career of McCain Fundraiser

   By Bill Allison Jul 25, 2008 3:58 p.m.

   Last week, Talking Points Memo reported that one of John McCain's top fundraisers, Juan Carlos Benitez, has direct ties to Jack Abramoff, and now works with Cassidy & Associates, a Washington, D.C., lobbying firm. McCain's campaign listed Benitez as having raised between $50,000 to $100,000.

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4. $1,000 to the Jerry Lewis Portrait Committee

   By Bill Allison Jul 14, 2008 9:46 p.m.

   LD-203 forms--on which lobbyists disclose their contributions to lawmakers' campaigns, to presidential libraries, and to nonprofits honoring members of Congress, is available online. The disclosure that prompted the headline of this post is here. Lots of other interesting stuff, but there are a little less than 3,917 records in the entire database, which makes me think that the data isn't yet complete. There are also all the usual issues with inaccurate federal data -- here's a a $200,000 contribution to Sen. Barbara Boxer's leadership PAC. That's a bit more than the $5,000 FEC limit.

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5. Birnbaum: Bank of America lobbyists wrote parts of bank bail out bill

   By Bill Allison Jun 26, 2008 3:25 a.m.

   Jeffrey Birnbaum, writing in the Washington Post, reports lobbyists wrote key portions of the mortgage bailout bill:

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6. A little digging into FEC disclosures

   By Bill Allison Jun 20, 2008 3:41 p.m.

   A while back, Jim Geraghty of the Campaign Spot wrote a pair of interesting posts, the first noting that, during his 2000 campaign to unseat Rep. Bobby Rush, D-Ill., Barack Obama took "on credit card debt to finance his effort," while the second raised additional questions but seemed to put the credit card issue to rest, by quoting a New York Times article that looked at the campaign committee's finances:

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7. Who's lobbying for Countrywide?

   By Bill Allison Jun 19, 2008 9:38 p.m.

   The Senate Office of Public Records database shows that one of the outside lobbying firms employed by Countrywide is Eris Group, formerly known as Bartlett, Bendall & Kadesh, LLC. Among the firm's lobbyists, (and they're currently lobbying on subprime mortgage bailout legislation) is Jennifer Bendall. The firm's Web site tells us that...

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8. CRP lists Countrywide's big campaign cash recipients

   By Bill Allison Jun 19, 2008 4:47 p.m.

   The excellent post by Irene Kan, along with a list of all the members in the 110th Congress who've taken campaign cash from Countrywide's PAC, employees and their family members, is online here. Note that Sen. Chris Dodd, D-Conn., is number two on the list. Sen. Kent Conrad, D-N.D., is tied for 23d place, by my count.

9. Subprime 6, 60...well, at least 13...

   By Bill Allison Jun 18, 2008 11:02 p.m.

   Glenn Reynolds notes that the Politico reports that Rep. Jeb Hensarling, R-Texas, called for a wider investigation than the one ongoing into the burgeoning Countrywide preferential loan scandal. Politico notes that, "no other Republican leader jumped on Hensarling's bandwagon Monday, and aides said they were reluctant to push forward with a probe because they didn't know what it might reveal," prompting Reynolds to write, "That's because it'll probably turn out to be more like the subprime sixty" (as opposed to the six figures currently implicated).

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10. More tidbits from trainings

    By Bill Allison Apr 25, 2008 6:44 p.m.

    American Express says that they'll start disclosing information on their donations to 501(c) groups (trade associations, political 501(c)4s and so on) that engage in political activity, provided that the groups disclose this info to Amex:

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11. Tidbits from trainings

    By Bill Allison Apr 24, 2008 11:29 p.m.

    Lately I've been doing a lot of traveling, training reporters on using some of the campaign finance resources that Sunlight supports, and doing a lot of research in the process. I've come across some interesting stuff along the way, including this General Dynamics statement on their political contributions:

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12. Bonner earmark #13

    By Bill Allison Feb 28, 2008 5:25 a.m.

    Rep. Jo Bonner joined Sen. Richard Shelby in securing a $9,089,000 earmark for the University of Alabama "for construction, renovation, and equipment" in the Labor, HHS and Education appropriations bill, according to our good friends at Taxpayers for Common Sense. The earmark originated with Sen. Shelby--employees and family members of the University of Alabama collectively are his 11th most generous career patron, having contributed $$62,769 to his campaign committee. In the course of his House career, Bonner has taken in roughly a third of that -- $21,150 -- from University of Alabama employees, making them the 19th most generous contributor on his career list.

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13. Bonner earmark #s 11 & 12

    By Bill Allison Feb 28, 2008 3:56 a.m.

    The next two earmarks are went to the same recipient. Rep. Jo Bonner, R-Ala., secured a $352,500 earmark for Team Focus, a Mobile, Ala.-based nonprofit which aims to "provide young men that do have a father figure in their life, ages 10 18 with leadership skills, guidance, Godly values, and a continual relationship with a mentor," according to its Web site. Sen. Richard Shelby, R-Ala., joined Bonner in sponsoring the earmark in the Commerce, Justice and Science appropriations bill. Team Focus got another earmark in the same bill for $517,000--this one sponsored by Sens. Shelby and Jeff Sessions, R-Ala., and joined by Bonner. The first earmark is for mentoring and education, while the second is for youth education and mentoring. (This information comes from Taxpayers for Common Sense, something I haven't pointed out as I should.)

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14. More Bonner earmarks...

    By Bill Allison Feb 27, 2008 10:16 p.m.

    ...later tonight. Right now I'm going to the check out the PorK Fest...

Investigations by Sunlight Foundation reporter Bill Allison