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To the victors go the spoils: What top donors want
By Nancy Watzman Nov 8, 2012 2:52 p.m.With the election over, a Congress full of lame ducks -- along with next year's class of soon-to-be sworn-in lawmakers, ready for freshmen orientation -- returns to Washington next week. Lobbyists and special interests that opened their wallets for candidates are poised to call in chits in a tense environment dominated by the budget impasse that threatens to impose sweeping automatic cuts to defense and social programs if Congress doesn't act.
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The black hole of political disclosure
By Breanna Edwards, Jake Harper, Rebecca Heller and Lindsay Young Jul 16, 2012 3:53 p.m.Our Sunlight Foundation colleague, Lee Drutman, has written elsewhere about the amount of dark money -- political donations that come without donors attached -- flowing into this year's campaign. But what about the conduits? As the Senate debates the DISCLOSE Act this week, a measure that would take modest steps towards adding a little transparency back into the campaign finance system, it's worth taking a look at the entities that are taking advantage of the loopholes that allow them to avoid disclosing -- sometimes just donors, sometimes just about everything.
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Following the Chamber of Commerce down the campaign finance rabbit hole
By Lindsay Young Jun 27, 2012 6:12 p.m.A New York Times report that New York’s Attorney General Eric Schneiderman is subpoenaing records of tax-exempt groups involved in politics underscores the difficulty of tracking campaign spending to its source following the 2010 Citizens United decision, a ruling that the Supreme Court reaffirmed this week.
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Big financial interests chip away at Dodd Frank regulations
By Nancy Watzman Mar 26, 2012 4:43 p.m.Today the House plans to take up two industry-backed bills dealing with derivatives, the hitherto opaque financial instruments so crucial to the 2008 meltdown, under a procedure usually reserved for noncontroversial matters.
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Health care lobbying groups head to the Supreme Court
By Lindsay Young Mar 23, 2012 11 a.m.If war is politics by other means, so is litigation. While there will be plenty of rhetoric today about President Obama's health care law on the second anniversary of its signing -- including a new op-ed by Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney, who was for the health care reform in Massachusetts before he was against it nationally -- the big battle begins Monday, when the Supreme Court opens an unusual three days of argument over the constitutionality of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act.
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Sunlight Live to cover the hidden influence in Obama jobs address
By Chris Zubak-Skees Sep 7, 2011 12:40 p.m.This Thursday at 7 p.m. President Barack Obama is set to address Congress and the nation when he’ll unveil his latest plan to create jobs. Already, a preview of the speech shows proposals consistent with the positions of influential groups like the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and the AFL-CIO. Both groups have spent millions to influence elections and policies. With that in mind, the Sunlight Foundation will cover the speech with live video, data and commentary at sunlightlive.com.
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Freshman lawmaker works to repeal transparency effort in Dodd-Frank
By Ryan Sibley May 12, 2011 2:48 p.m.Last week members of the Capital Markets Subcommittee forwarded legislation to repeal a portion of Dodd-Frank that requires big banks to disclose income information for all of its employees onto the full Committee on Financial Services for consideration.
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Chamber of Commerce meets with CFTC chairman
By Nancy Watzman Mar 2, 2011 12:33 p.m.Yesterday a lobbyist and executives representing the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, which has criticized the whistleblower provisions in the Dodd-Frank financial law, met with Gary Gensler, chairman of the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), to discuss the issue.
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