Sunlight Foundation

Members Of Congress Speak Like High School Sophomores

The Huffington Post | Amanda Terkel | Posted 05.22.2012

Read More: 112th Congress, Video, Sunlight Foundation, Congress Speech Patterns, Dan Lungren, SAT Words, Mick Mulvaney, SAT Test, Politics News

The sophistication of federal lawmakers' speech patterns is on the decline, with members of Congress now talking, on average, at the level of high sch...

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Corporations Reap Benefits Of Lobbying

HuffingtonPost.com | Luke Johnson | Posted 04.17.2012

Read More: Taxes, Corporate Tax Rates, Video, Sunlight Foundation, Lobbying, Corporations, Tax Day, Tax Day 2012, Corporate Taxes, Corporations Lobbying, Politics News

The top eight companies that spent the most on federal lobbying from 2007 to 2009 all saw their reported tax rates decrease from 2007 to 2010, accordi...

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In Spite of New Ethics Rules, 378 Aides Have Registered As Lobbyists Since 2009

Corbin Hiar | Posted 04.25.2012

Read More: Sunlight Foundation, Lobbying, Lobbying Disclosure Enhancement Act, Hill Staffers, K Street, Hill Staffers Lobbying, Congressional Staff Lobbying, Congressional Staffers Lobbying, Lobbyists, Politics News

A new study finds that nearly 400 House staffers have moved from Capitol Hill to K Street in recent years, suggesting that recent efforts to curb the revolving door between lawmaking and lobbying are having limited effect.

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As Senator, Rick Santorum Was Obsessed With Women's Reproduction

HuffingtonPost.com | Andrea Stone | Posted 01.06.2012

Read More: Abortion, Video, Senate, New Hampshire Primary, New Hampshire Primary Election 2012, Rick Santorum Abortion, Sunlight Foundation, Partial Birth Abortion, Rick Santorum, Elections 2012, Rick Santorum 2012, Rick Santorum Reproductive Rights, Rick-Santorum-Pro-Life, Politics News

WASHINGTON -- Surging Republican presidential contender Rick Santorum appeared to have a cause that reemerged repeatedly when he was a United States s...

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Mr. Colbert -- Wanna Help Us Make a Better Tomorrow, Today?

Wendy Block | Posted 02.08.2012

Read More: Stephen Colbert, Center for Media and Democracy, Super Pac, Karl Rove, Sunlight Foundation, Koch Brothers, California Clean Money Campaign, Colbert Nation, Colbert Super Pac, Loni Hancock, Politics News

Hey Stephen Colbert. There's an existential challenge to your shadowy Colbert Super PAC S.H.H. and I've been trying to give you a heads up. But you're not making it easy.

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Haunt the House and Senate This Halloween

Ellen Miller | Posted 12.28.2011

Read More: Halloween, Haunted, Super Committee, Sunlight Foundation, Congress Super Committee, Supercommittee, Deficit Supercommittee, Ellen Miller, Politics News

In less than a month the Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction will send Congress their recommendations to cut at least $1.2 trillion. If that wasn't frightening enough, a majority of their work has taken place behind closed doors.

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Obama Bundlers Bring The Big Bucks

HuffingtonPost.com | Paul Blumenthal | Posted 12.15.2011

Read More: Bundlers, Jon Corzine, Sunlight Foundation, Matthew Barzun, Obama Bundlers, Harvey Weinstein, Elections 2012, Christine Forester, Fundraising, Jeffrey Katzenberg, Solyndra, Barack Obama, Campaign Finance, Politics News

WASHINGTON -- The re-election campaign of President Barack Obama has a wide base of small-dollar donors and a small base of big-dollar bundlers. A tot...

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Koch Industries Reportedly Had Inside Man At The EPA

Sunlight Foundation | Posted 12.05.2011

Read More: Energy, Environmental Protection Agency, Sunlight Foundation, Epa, Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, Koch Industries, Don Clay, Koch Industries Epa, Green News

Koch Industries, the closely held firm led by conservative and libertarian political donors Charles and David Koch, has a long record of entanglements...

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Super Committee Members Still Raising Money For Themselves

HuffingtonPost.com | Paul Blumenthal | Posted 10.30.2011

Read More: Super Congress, Fred Upton, Sunlight Foundation, Chris Van Hollen, Patty Murray, Xavier Becerra, Jon Kyl, Campaign Finance, Dave Camp, Super Committee, Rob Portman, John Kerry, Jeb Hensarling, Pat Toomey, Jim Clyburn, Politics News

WASHINGTON -- The super committee created by the debt limit deal to plot $1.5 trillion in deficit cuts is set to begin hearings in the next two weeks....

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Corporate Donors Take Aim At Super Congress

HuffingtonPost.com | Alex Becker | Posted 10.26.2011

Read More: Super Congress, Sunlight Foundation, Super Committee, Corporate Donors, Debt Ceiling, Lobbying, Debt Reduction, Politics News

WASHINGTON -- A new report by the Sunlight Foundation, a money in politics watchdog group, reveals that members of the newly formed Joint Select Commi...

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Pelosi Calls For Open Super Congress

HuffingtonPost.com | Paul Blumenthal | Posted 10.07.2011

Read More: Transparency, Debt, Super Congress, Marco Rubio, Rand Paul, Super Committee, Sunlight Foundation, Debt Ceiling, Senate Republicans, Nancy Pelosi, 112th Congress, Debt Ceiling Bill, David Vitter, Dean Heller, Politics News

WASHINGTON -- On Saturday, House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) called on the debt reduction "super committee" to do its work in the open. ...

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Whistleblowing Laws and Culture Need to Change to Save Taxpayer Dollars

Project On Government Oversight | Posted 10.02.2011

Read More: Transparency, Whistleblowers, Project on Government Oversight, Sunlight Foundation, Micah Sifry, Whistleblower Protection, Whistleblower, Office of Special Counsel, Politics News

Calling out waste, fraud and abuse should be seen as a positive act that strengthens government. Unfortunately, in the current climate, whistleblowers are seen as insubordinates for calling attention to failure.

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Some Lobbyists' Gifts to Lawmaker's Pet Causes Remain in the Dark

The Sunlight Foundation | Posted 09.14.2011

Read More: Keenan Steiner, Philanthropy, Congress, Fundraising, Charity, Lobbying, Sunlight Foundation, Patty Murray, Orrin Hatch, Politics News

Donations from big companies' charitable foundations are just one way in which funds flow to lawmakers' pet charities but remain out of the public eye.

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$50 Million Tribute to Lawmakers

HuffingtonPost.com | Christina Wilkie | Posted 09.11.2011

Read More: Congress, Sunlight Foundation, James Clyburn, Lobbying, Money, Congressional Black Caucus Foundation, Lobbyists, Elections 2012, 112th Congress, Charities, Influence, Politics News

Registered lobbyists spent more that $50 million honoring lawmakers at events in 2009 and 2010, according to a report released Tuesday by the Sunlight...

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One Out of Every Ten Investment Advisers Disciplined

The Sunlight Foundation | Posted 08.30.2011

Read More: Securities and Exchange Commission, Sunlight Foundation, Politics News

More than one out of ten registered investment adviser firms have reported that they have been the subject of some sort of disciplinary action over the last decade.

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Sunlight Foundation Launches New 'Inbox Influence' Tool

HuffingtonPost.com | Jason Linkins | Posted 08.21.2011

Read More: Transparency, Eat the Press, Congress, Sunlight Foundation, Lobbying, Lobbyists, Influence Peddling, Media News, Inbox Influence, Video, Media News

As longtime readers know, I love me some Sunlight Foundation. Especially the way they continue to create simple tools to penetrate the hidden world of...

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Politics Is in Everything. Period.

Alan W. Silberberg | Posted 07.12.2011

Read More: White House, Aneesh Chopra, Egov Fund, Sunlight Foundation, data.gov, Alan W. Silberberg, U.S. House of Representatives, The Hill, Julianne Shinto, Political Branding, Gov 2.0, Budget, Technology News

Politics seems to be in everything now. Whether it is your home loan, your school loan; even your reproductive rights or the right to bear arms. Belie...

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One year after passage, health care reform continues to generate lobbying and legal fees

The Sunlight Foundation | Posted 05.25.2011

Read More: Health Care Lobbyists, Lobbying, Sunlight Foundation, Lobbyists, Health Care Reform, Affordable Care Act, Health Care, Healthcare, Barack Obama, Politics News

One year ago today, President Obama signed the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act into law. The legislative process that led to the bill's en...

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New Study Finds Agencies Slow to Adopt Even Basic FOIA Guidelines

The Sunlight Foundation | Posted 05.25.2011

Read More: National Security Archive, Sunlight Foundation, Rahm Emanuel, John S. And James L. Knight Foundation, Foia, Freedom of Information Act, Bob Bauer, Barack Obama, Eric Holder, Politics News

Sunshine Week starts with a new report from the National Security Archive and the Knight Foundation that finds only 49 of 90 agencies have adopted 'co...

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Sunshine Week: Optimism through the Clouds

The Sunlight Foundation | Posted 05.25.2011

Read More: New Hampshire, Virginia Tech, Sunlight Foundation, Indiana, Sunshine Week, Ellen Miller, Politics News

After launching Sunshine Week with yesterday's successful Advisory Committee on Transparency event, it's a good time to reflect on positive transparen...

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Current and Former Officials Intervene on Billionaire's Behalf in Battle With Peru

The Sunlight Foundation | Posted 05.25.2011

Facing a battle with the Peruvian government over a smelting operation that has caused severe environmental damage, the Renco Group and its owner have assembled a formidable lobbying team.

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Following the Activity One Year After Citizens United

Ellen Miller | Posted 05.25.2011

Read More: Transparency, Congress, Sunlight Foundation, Citizens United, Money, Lobbyists, Politics News

This Friday marks the one-year anniversary of the Citizens United v. FEC Supreme Court decision. We here at Sunlight recognize that if Congress and th...

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Mark Kirk's Mystery Money: Flood Of Cash From Anonymous Outside Donors

Chicago Sun-Times | LYNN SWEET blogs.suntimes.com/Sweet | Posted 05.25.2011

Read More: Alexi Giannoulias, Mark Kirk Money, Illinois Senate Race, Karl Rove, Sunlight Foundation, Mark Kirk, Mark Kirk Donors, American Crossroads, Chicago News

An unprecedented amount of money from outside groups is pouring into the hotly contested Illinois Senate race, most of it to bolster Republican Mark K...

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Flow Of Outside Money Into Colo. Races DOUBLED Last Week

The Denver Post | Allison Sherry and Michael Booth | Posted 05.25.2011

Read More: Colorado, 527's, 2010, Sunlight Foundation, Outside Money, Colorado Politics, Denver News

Outside political money being spent in Colorado more than doubled last week to over $23 million, dropping even the most cynical jaws and boosting call...

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WikiLeaks Thoughts

Ellen Miller | Posted 05.25.2011

Read More: Transparency, Wikileaks, Sunlight Foundation, Politics News

This post was co-written by Ellen Miller and Mike Klein, Sunlight's co-founders. The Sunlight Foundation was founded in 2006 with one core idea: that...

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