Sunlight Foundation

  1. Presidential Super PAC disclosures may leave voters in the dark

    By Keenan Steiner Dec 21, 2011 11:56 a.m.

    When voters cast their ballots in January’s presidential nominating contests, they may not know the moneyed interests behind the attack ads run by shadowy outside groups trying to influence their votes, despite a Federal Election Commission deadline requiring many of them to disclose information next week. 

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  2. Food and media companies donated generously to lawmakers opposing food marketing guidelines for kids

    By Nancy Watzman Dec 20, 2011 4:50 p.m.

    Last summer, a bipartisan group of House members from Pennsylvania wrote federal agencies complaining that proposed guidelines restricting the marketing of unhealthy food to children marked “an alarming regulatory overreach.” They emphasized their sugary roots in “the leading confectionary producing state in the nation.” 

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  3. SOPA revolvers: Sixteen former Judiciary staffers lobby on online copyright issues

    By Keenan Steiner Dec 14, 2011 12:22 p.m.

    As the House Judiciary Committee readies to consider a controversial bill that supporters say will crack down on websites pirating content, some interest groups may have a leg up on influencing the legislators.

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  4. Congress members owning TransCanada stock push to approve Keystone XL

    By Lindsay Young Dec 8, 2011 12:12 p.m.

    Four members of Congress who have disclosed owning shares in Transcanada, the company trying to build the controversial Keystone XL pipeline, have pressed for the $7 billion project's approval. 

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  5. Meetings missing from CFTC website

    By Nancy Watzman Dec 7, 2011 1:32 p.m.

    A week before Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) commissioners unanimously approved new rules restricting how brokerage firms may invest customer funds, executives from Newedge, which had pushed against the rules along with the now bankrupt firm MF Global, attended several meetings with high ranking CFTC officials.

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  6. Who visited Jack Abramoff in Cumberland prison? We've FOIAed to find out

    By Bill Allison Dec 6, 2011 4:50 p.m.

    In his book Capitol Punishment: The Hard Truth about Washington Corruption from America's Most Notorious Lobbyist, Jack Abramoff notes that while serving his sentence for mail fraud and conspiracy in a federal prison in Cumberland, Md., he was fortunate that "some intrepid public officials [made] the trek to Cumberland, including Congressman Dana Rohrabacher, his wife Rhonda, and their adorable triplets..."

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  7. Food and media companies lobby to weaken guidelines on marketing food to children

    By Nancy Watzman Dec 5, 2011 11:38 a.m.

    A major lobbying push by a powerful group of food and media companies appears to be working, with a federal agency indicating it would back off on parts of proposed voluntary guidelines for marketing food to children. The guidelines are meant to combat childhood obesity.

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  8. Legacy media bankrolling campaigns of SOPA cosponsors

    By Tessa Muggeridge Dec 1, 2011 12:13 p.m.

    Traditional big media firms have contributed more than $5 million to the sponsors of the Stop Online Piracy Act, with California Democratic Reps. Howard Berman and Adam Schiff as the top recipients.

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  9. Another renewable energy loan recipient hires lobbyists, has fundraising ties to Obama

    By Keenan Steiner Nov 30, 2011 3:26 p.m.

    Abound Solar, another participant in the Department of Energy’s loan guarantee program, which is facing scrutiny, has hired Washington lobbyists because of that attention, a company spokesperson said.

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  10. Central banks ease terms on currency swaps

    By Nancy Watzman Nov 30, 2011 11:11 a.m.

    Stocks surged today as the announcement settled in that six central banks are joining forces to ease terms of currency liquidity swaps. As we have reported earlier here and here, the European Central Bank has recently been increasing its borrowing under the emergency swap facility, which is similar to that set up during the 2008 financial crisis, when lending at one point peaked at $586 billion.

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  11. Deutsche Telekom meets key people opposing AT&T and T-Mobile merger

    By Lindsay Young Nov 23, 2011 10:01 a.m.

    While Congress and the Department of Justice are questioning the T-Mobile and AT&T merger, Deutsche Telekom, T-Mobile's parent company has been working on a behind the scene lobbying campaign, contacting key opponents to the deal in the last few months, reports filed under the Foreign Agents Registration Act show.

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  12. Sunlight Live team to cover GOP national security debate

    By Katy Schultz Nov 21, 2011 3:32 p.m.

    The Republican Presidential candidates will meet this Tuesday in the nation’s capital to debate national security, just as they did in South Carolina just two weeks ago. Tuesday's debate will be hosted by CNN and sponsored by the Heritage Foundation and the American Enterprise Institute and the Sunlight Live team will cover it.

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  13. Reporter’s Notebook: Understanding the automatic cuts if the supercommittee can’t deliver

    By Keenan Steiner Nov 18, 2011 2:26 p.m.

    With the supercommittee's deadline only five days away, the special deficit-cutting panel's chances of reaching a deal appear to be in doubt. And if no agreement is reached, more than one trillion dollars in cuts would be set in motion starting in 2013. That is, if the Congress and president allow the automatic trigger to take effect.

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  14. Unraveling Perry's air travel using FEC disclosures

    By Tessa Muggeridge Nov 18, 2011 10:34 a.m.

    Earlier this month the New York Times revealed that Texas Governor and Republican presidential nominee-hopeful Rick Perry often uses the private planes of businesspeople — some long-time donors — to travel the country for free for various political events and even lobbying.

    Read all about it

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