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NRCC spends big, flexes power
By Ryan Sibley Oct 4, 2010 11:23 a.m.The National Republican Congressional Committee reported spending more than $800,000 on one day, Friday Oct. 1, in opposition to 30 Democrats. The NRCC has spent almost $13.7 million in independent expenditures to oppose Democrats so far this election cycle, tops among all groups as of this writing.
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Republicans Ask Watchdogs to Review FOIA Request Process
By Laurel Adams Oct 4, 2010 10:04 a.m.Inspectors general at the Energy Department and Social Security Administration say their review of FOIA procedures at the request of senior Republican lawmakers showed no signs of meddling by political appointees.
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Beyond Super PACs: Political groups up electioneering spending as mid-terms approach
By Anupama Narayanswamy Sep 30, 2010 2:43 p.m.Outside organizations have so far reported spending more than $18 million to run issue ads mentioning candidates within 30 days of primaries and 60 days of the general election--a 31 percent increase over the last mid-term election cycle. Corporate trade associations, labor unions, environmental groups, proponents of traditional values and even a group that opposes big money in politics have run ads in the run up to November 2, reports from the Federal Election Commission show.
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Re-Named Offshore Energy Agency Urged to Publish Production Data
By Linsey Isaacs Sep 29, 2010 9:38 a.m.The scandal-wrecked Minerals Management Services changed its name to Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation and Enforcement (BOEMRE) as part of a promised wave of reforms, but consumer advocacy groups say more transparency is what is really needed at the offshore energy agency.
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Sunlight tools helps connect the dots between independent expenditures and ads
By Lindsay Young Sep 27, 2010 3:14 p.m.Just over a month away from the midterm elections political ads are mustering strength and each advertisement is only one small piece of a larger network of money, power and influence. The Sunlight Foundation has two new tools to help track this political influence: Follow the Unlimited Money, a user friendly way to track advertising and other kinds of electioneering, and Sunlight Campaign Ad Monitor that tracks the end result of some of the political spending powered by citizens reporting.
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Abortion issues dominate independent expenditures in California Senate race
By Lindsay Young Sep 24, 2010 1 p.m.In the Senate race between Democratic incumbent Barbara Boxer and Carly Fiorina of California, 87 percent of the independent expenditures relates to abortion issues. Among these two candidates, pro-life groups so far have spent $186,000, while pro-choice spending amounts to $41,000, according to a review of our independent expenditures database.
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Outside groups spending record amounts on mid-term elections
By Ryan Sibley Sep 23, 2010 12:06 p.m.Since January 2010, spending by outside organizations to influence congressional elections totals some $57 million--up more than $20 million from a comparable time period in 2006, the most recent non-presidential election cycle--according to reports collected by the Federal Election Commission.
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AP report highlights lack of disclosure in campaign finance world
By Ryan Sibley Sep 20, 2010 3:19 p.m.A report put out by the Asoociated Press today highlights the lack of disclosure of money spent to influence mid-term elections. The story highlights the successful fundraising efforts by American Crossroads and Crossroads GPS, two Republican-leaning organizations created by top Bush administration advisors, and notes that the two groups raised $14.5 million combined in one 30-day period that ended on Sunday.
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‘Baby Steps’ for Federal E-Rulemaking Process
By Jeremy Borden Sep 16, 2010 11:29 a.m.Federal rules affect many aspects of American life, ranging from whether truck drivers can send text messages to standards for the quality of drinking water.
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SpeechNow now speaking
By Ryan Sibley Sep 15, 2010 4:30 p.m.The nonprofit group Speechnow.org has finally established itself as an independent expenture-only committee with the Federal Elections Commission. The group waited for two months after the FEC issued advisory opinions clearly stating that groups could organize to make independent expenditures and receive unlimited contributions -- a result Speechnow's win in a federal court case againt the FEC.
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Can we rate heart surgeries like blenders?
By Sarah Dorsey Sep 9, 2010 11:41 a.m.The Consumers Union, publisher of Consumer Reports, released a set of ratings yesterday for something rather more important than appliances: heart bypass surgery. Using data submitted to the Society of Thoracic Surgeons (STS), the Consumers Union has graded various heart surgery groups using a three-star scale, similar to the way it rates radios, cameras and washing machines. It's a set of valuable public data that could serve as a model for expanding the Department of Health and Human Services' open government sites like Data.medicare.gov and the Community Health Data Initiative.
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Top donors to lawmakers fund their official portraits
By Nancy Watzman Sep 8, 2010 7:49 a.m.For 24 years, Rep. Bart Gordon, D-Tenn., has represented the sixth district of Tennessee, rising to become the chairman of the House Science Committee. Now he is retiring, but he is planning to leave his likeness behind in the committee room, in the form of an official portrait paid for by corporate donors such as Lockheed Martin, Microsoft, and Northrop Grumman, which are also top contributors to his campaign fund. These companies have contributed a total of $34,000 to the portrait fund.
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More political organizations declare they'll take unlimited funds
By Ryan Sibley Sep 7, 2010 4:22 p.m.In the 6 weeks following an advisory opinion issued by the Federal Elections Commission allowing some political organizations—called independent expenditure-only PACs—to receive unlimited contributions from corporations and labor unions, 23 groups have registered as such. The FEC is anticipating 67 more to do so as well. To see both FEC lists click here.
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States of Transparency: Tennessee
By Sarah Dorsey Sep 7, 2010 12:32 p.m.The Open Government Directive encouraged states to put valuable government data online. In this series we're reviewing each state's efforts in this direction.
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