Sunlight Foundation

  1. 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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  2. 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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  3. 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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  4. 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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  5. 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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  6. 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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  7. 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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  8. A primer for tonight's presidential address on Afghanistan

    By Stevie Mathieu Jun 22, 2011 11:32 a.m.

    President Obama will unveil his plan tonight for pulling out the roughly 30,000 troops sent to Afghanistan during the December 2009 troop surge. While all kinds of factors go into foreign policy decisions, especially when it comes to putting troops in harm's way, it's worth noting that the Afghanistan operation has been the subject of intensive lobbying, has been prone to fraud, waste and abuse in federal contracting and raises issues of government accountability. 

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  9. And then there were eight Palin accounts

    By Chris Zubak-Skees Jun 21, 2011 4:58 p.m.

    How many email accounts did Sarah Palin use as Alaska governor? Last week, the answer, tallied in an earlier story, was “at least six.” This week, it’s “at least eight.”

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  10. Lawmakers neglect to report ties to nonprofits

    By Keenan Steiner Jun 20, 2011 10:37 a.m.

    Two members of Congress left some information in the dark when filling out their personal financial disclosure forms, which were made public last week.

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  11. Investment adviser contributions remain secret

    By Nancy Watzman Jun 16, 2011 7:50 a.m.

    Starting in March 2011, investment advisers who have government clients must keep records of campaign contributions made to elected officials or candidates. But these records are kept secret--buried in internal files, out of the public eye, and available for perusal only by certain government officials.

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  12. Palin used six email accounts as governor

    By Chris Zubak-Skees Jun 15, 2011 9:03 a.m.

    On Friday, reporters in Juneau, Alaska, began to sift through and scan more than 24,000 pages of emails to and from former Governor Sarah Palin, just released in response to requests made when she was governor. But they had full coverage of just two of her email accounts--and perhaps not the most interesting ones--because Palin had at least six accounts: one for public contact, one for internal state business, one for anything confidential and others for a mix of state and personal business.

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  13. Sunlight Live to cover Senate hearing on Clean Air Act Wednesday

    By Stevie Mathieu Jun 14, 2011 11:28 a.m.

    Lawmakers on the Senate's Environment and Public Works committee will meet Wednesday, June 15, to hear from experts on public health as it relates to the longstanding Clean Air Act.

    Read all about it

  14. Plaintiff in Citizens United case forms a Super PAC

    By Aaron Bycoffe Jun 14, 2011 10:52 a.m.

    Citizens United, whose court challenge to rules barring political spending by corporations has led to far-reaching changes in the campaign finance landscape, has formed its own Super PAC, allowing it to raise and spend unlimited amounts of money to influence elections.

    Read all about it

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