Sunlight Foundation Reporting Group

Follow the Money: What kind of wave will 2010 bring ashore?

Opinion polls and prognosticators alike suggest that Republicans are poised to make a major comeback in this year’s midterm elections. The comparison du jour is the 1994 “wave” that swept 54 Democrats in the House of Representatives out of office and the Republicans into power for the first time since 1956. A more accurate comparison, based on a Sunlight Foundation analysis of campaign finance disclosure information, would be the 2006 elections when Democrats won 31 seats and a bare majority in the House.

Citizens United: Tennessee's response

States of Transparency: Missouri

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.

Disappearmarks: How highway projects get left behind

Pennsylvania's Ambridge-Aliquippa Bridge.

"It's left up to the members"

My colleague Anu Narayanswamy has written on House disbursements; interestingly, they figure in a footnote of Rep. Charles Rangel's defense against the charges leveled against him by the Committee on Standards of Official Conduct:

Rangel's ethics defense, visualized

Drug databases missing from data.gov

The Food and Drug Administration maintains 11 crucial drug databases available to the public on the agency website. However, if you tried to look them up on Data.gov, the administration's flagship site for organizing government data, you wouldn't have any luck finding them.

Citizens United: Massachusetts' response

The Supreme Court’s decision in the Citizens United v. FEC case has rendered 24 states' election laws unconstitutional. The 5-4 ruling in favor of Citizens United reversed a provision of the McCain-Feingold act that prohibited any electioneering communication—defined as advertising via broadcast, cable or satellite that is paid for by corporations or labor unions. Many states have acted fast to counter corporations’ ability to spend unlimited amounts of money to influence elections by passing laws that force disclosure of all independent expenditures in near real time. The Sunlight Foundation Reporting Group has decided to report what each of these states is doing to respond to the highly-contested ruling. Today we're looking at Massachusetts:

A paper inspired rant that the government could have prevented

My desk is a cluttered mess. Not cluttered with the usual water glasses, mini hand sanitzer bottles and pain reliever galore. No. It's cluttered with thousands of almost entirely useless pieces of paper sent to me from the federal government. 

House to charge Charlie Rangel with ethics violations

Despite his oft repeated assertions to the contrary, Rep. Charles Rangel, D-N.Y., will be charged by the House Committee on Standards of Official Conduct for as yet unspecified violations of congressional ethics rules.

Citizens United: Rhode Island's response

The Supreme Court’s decision in the Citizens United v. FEC case has rendered 24 states' election laws unconstitutional. The 5-4 ruling in favor of Citizens United reversed a provision of the McCain-Feingold act that prohibited any electioneering communication—defined as advertising via broadcast, cable or satellite that is paid for by corporations or labor unions. Many states have acted fast to counter corporations’ ability to spend unlimited amounts of money to influence elections by passing laws that force disclosure of all independent expenditures in near real time. The Sunlight Foundation Reporting Group has decided to report what each of these states is doing to respond to the highly-contested ruling. Today we're looking at Rhode Island:

Disappearmarks: Billions set aside for earmarks remain unspent

Last week Rep. Betsy Markey, D-Colo., introduced a bill that would redirect some $700 million in funds that have been languishing in Transportation Department accounts, designated to fund projects earmarked by members of Congress more than a decade ago and long since forgotten.

States of Transparency: South Dakota

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.

House disbursement data for 2010 now online

We’ve released a cleaned up version of the House disbursements data that covers the first quarter of 2010, during which the House spent more than $339 million on salaries, expenses and equipment.