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DCCC invokes Murtha to aid Critz
By Bill Allison May 5, 2010 2:57 p.m.A friend and colleague passes along the following email the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee is sending out, signed by the widow of the late Rep. John Murtha, D-Pa., Joyce Murtha: DCCC email
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Case study in trying to analyze earmark data
By Lisa Chiu May 4, 2010 12:25 p.m.Each year, Congress allocates billions in earmarks that come in the form of annual appropriation committee requests or are attached to various bills that become law. The Sunlight Foundation thought it would be interesting to examine which earmarks, after all the Congressional debate and bluster has dispensed, actually get spent.
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From earmark to disappearmark: Bush administration policy shift cut funding for congressional projects
By Lisa Chiu May 4, 2010 12:24 p.m.Rep. David Price, D-N.C.
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Bad dates: ProPublica notes lack of accuracy in campaign finance data
By Bill Allison May 3, 2010 12:09 p.m.ProPublica's Sebastian Jones notes what for us has been one of the most maddening features of campaign finance data: the dates don't mean very much at all. Campaigns report when they receive money, and political action committees report when they donate it. In theory, those dates should match, but as Jones points out, they don't:
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Grab a shovel and help Data Mine dig
By Bill Allison Apr 30, 2010 2:16 p.m.From my colleagues at the Center for Public Integrity:
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Shelby smells a rat in S. 3217
By Ryan Sibley Apr 29, 2010 3:44 p.m.Sen. Richard Shelby, R-Ala, doesn't believe the financial reform bill the Senate began debating today will actually regulate the large financial organizations whose risky actions threatened the entire economy in 2008. Instead, the ranking member of the Senate Banking Committee sees the bill as something that will further institutionalize bank bailouts in the future.
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Consumer Group: Electricity Price-Gouging Feared Until Bids Made Public
By Jim Morris Apr 29, 2010 1:26 p.m.Enron Corp.'s manipulation of the California energy market in 2000 and 2001 is notorious. Electricity bills soared and blackouts affected hundreds of thousands of people as contemptuous traders with Enron, a power wholesaler, delighted in their scheme. Tapes of traders released in 2004 contained infuriating nuggets like this: "Just cut 'em off... They should just bring back f------ horses and carriages, f------ lamps, f------ kerosene lamps."
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OGD: Reviewing EPA's interactive datasets
By Aisha Qidwae Apr 29, 2010 11:20 a.m.The Environmental Protection Agency has been ahead of several other cabinet level agencies when it comes to putting data online. For several years now some of their main datasets are available with interactive features such as maps and in a downloadable format. Now according to EPA’s open government plan, the agency is planning on releasing several new data driven projects by the end of 2010, some of which are already public.
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Civil rights groups want details on immigrant fingerprint program
By Claritza Jiménez Apr 29, 2010 9:42 a.m.As Arizona turns up the heat on illegal immigrants, civil rights groups are demanding the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) release details about a rapidly expanding federal program that helps local police identify illegal immigrants for potential deportation. The Center for Constitutional Rights and two other groups filed a lawsuit on April 27 attempting to force ICE to turn over data about its “Secure Communities” program after failing to get the information through a Freedom of Information Act request.
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Committee members grilling Goldman have recieved Wall Street giant's money
By Ryan Sibley Apr 27, 2010 5:43 p.m.Four of the 10 committee members on the Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations that grilled Goldman Sachs today have received campaign contributions from the Wall Street Giant. The amounts and recipients are as follows:
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Illegal immigrant stats available, but yet to appear on Data.gov
By Lisa Chiu Apr 27, 2010 1:59 p.m.According to Department of Homeland Security statistics, there were an estimated 460,000 unauthorized immigrants in Arizona in January 2009. That statistic, making Arizona the state with the seventh largest illegal immigrant population, was often cited last week, as Gov. Jan Brewer signed the nation’s toughest law on illegal immigration.
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New Lobbyist Bundler Database Not Yet Searchable
By Aaron Mehta and Josh Israel Apr 26, 2010 3:53 p.m.When Democrats took over both chambers of Congress following the 2006 elections, one of their top priorities was a bill with tougher lobbying disclosure requirements. It was signed into law in September 2007 , but a provision requiring disclosure of money “bundling” by registered lobbyists took longer than expected to take effect. The Federal Election Commission (FEC), hobbled by the lack of a quorum for most of 2008, did not put the new disclosure rules into effect until February of 2009. The regulations created a system in which a political committee must identify and report bundlers of more than $16,000 per half-year period. Bundlers, of course, are that unique Washington creature who are able to gather lots of political donations from friends and family and then hand the money to a committee, saving the candidate much time and effort in fundraising.
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SEC and CFTC exclude derivatives from joint regulatory review
By Ryan Sibley Apr 23, 2010 3:37 p.m.As part of the broader push to strengthen regulation of the financial industry, two agencies with sometimes conflicting responsibilities and rules joined forces to see how harmonizing their efforts might be effective in, among other things, protecting against fraud and forcing foreign trade organizations to register with them before doing business within the United States. However, a Government Accountability Office (GAO) report, released yesterday, highlights that the two agencies, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), did not assess how they could cover gaps in the agencies’ authorities to oversee derivatives—a central part of the reform being debated in congress.
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OGD: A state-by-state look at Medicare payments
By Sarah Dorsey Apr 23, 2010 11:03 a.m.Click on the picture for a larger version.
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