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The Sunlight Foundation was founded in 2006 with the goal of using technology to enable citizens to learn more about what their elected representatives are doing, to help reduce corruption, ensure greater transparency and... [more]
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Private Travel
Ortiz Bet on China Deal
Written by Paul Blumenthal on February 27, 2008 - 11:53am.
Read more: China | Investments | Private Travel | Solomon Ortiz (see all terms)
Read more: China | Investments | Private Travel | Solomon Ortiz (see all terms)
Source Name
Roll Call
Snippit
Rep. Solomon Ortiz (D-Texas) and his chief of staff each invested thousands of dollars in a Chinese telecommunications project in 2005 with a Texas businessman whose company paid nearly $20,000 to fly them to China the year before and later became a donor to Ortiz’s campaigns.
Staffer Financial Disclosures to Go Online
Written by Paul Blumenthal on February 26, 2008 - 10:55am.
Read more: congressional travel | Legistorm | Private Travel | Transparency (see all terms)
Read more: congressional travel | Legistorm | Private Travel | Transparency (see all terms)
Source Name
Roll Call
Snippit
The Web site that puts the salaries of Congressional aides online is set to launch a feature today that exposes even more information about staffers’ money matters: PDF downloads of their financial disclosure forms.
Lawmakers still getting free trips overseas
Written by Paul Blumenthal on December 18, 2007 - 12:52pm.
Read more: Private Travel (see all terms)
Read more: Private Travel (see all terms)
Source Name
Politico
Snippit
The new congressional ethics rules have curbed corporate-sponsored travel for lawmakers — but that doesn’t mean they’ve been grounded.
Air Graves
Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) highlights a Roll Call report about U.S. Rep. Sam Graves' use of a contributor's airplane to travel throughout his large rural district, and his failure to disclose the use of the plane in his House reports. Graves has benefited from possibly thousands of dollars worth of free flights owned by a contracting firm that is also a major financial contributor to Graves' campaigns. St. Joseph, Mo., -based Herzog Comanies Inc. is the second largest contributor to Graves over his career, having given the congressman over $75,000 since 1989. How can Graves' failure to disclose these gifts not have been a violation of House ethics rules?
Last month, Roll Call raised questions regarding other flights Herzog provided Graves on its airplanes. Prime Buzz, the political blog of The Kansas City Star, reprinted the subscription-only article. Graves' financial reports list flights on Herzog corporate jets to attend NASCAR races in Florida. Graves's records term the flights as gifts from a personal friend. House ethics rules did allow members and their staff to receive gifts from friends, but requires that member receive prior approval from the ethics committee for any gift valued over $250. But as Roll Call points out, the jets are owned by a corporation, not an individual...And corporations don't have friends.
Written by Ellen Miller on December 5, 2007 - 3:34pm.
Read more: Private Travel | Rep. Sam Graves | Sunlight Foundation (see all terms)
Contractor Lends Wings to Graves
Written by Paul Blumenthal on December 4, 2007 - 10:17am.
Read more: Private Travel | Sam Graves (see all terms)
Read more: Private Travel | Sam Graves (see all terms)
Source Name
Roll Call
Snippit
Rep. Sam Graves (R-Mo.) has accepted perhaps thousands of dollars worth of free flight time in a vintage airplane owned by a contracting firm in his district that also is a major source of funds for Graves’ campaigns.
Loophole Allows Overseas Trips
Written by Paul Blumenthal on November 26, 2007 - 11:18am.
Read more: Lobbying/Ethics Reform | Loopholes | Private Travel (see all terms)
Read more: Lobbying/Ethics Reform | Loopholes | Private Travel (see all terms)
Source Name
Roll Call
Snippit
Trips to foreign locales such as Saudi Arabia and Canada may be on the rise despite the implementation of new gift and travel rules that prohibit most travel covered by private funding sources.
Feingold, Obama go after corporate jet travel
Written by Paul Blumenthal on November 15, 2007 - 11:15am.
Read more: Barack Obama | FEC | Private Travel | Russ Feingold (see all terms)
Read more: Barack Obama | FEC | Private Travel | Russ Feingold (see all terms)
Source Name
The Hill
Snippit
Two Democratic lawmakers are urging the Federal Election Commission (FEC) to adopt a rule change that would limit the influence corporations have on legislators by requiring federal candidates and officials from their leadership political action committees and campaigns who fly on non-commercial jets to pay the full charter cost.
Industries Paid for Top Regulators' Travel
Written by Paul Blumenthal on November 2, 2007 - 10:53am.
Read more: Bush Administration | Consumer Product Safety Commission | Private Travel (see all terms)
Read more: Bush Administration | Consumer Product Safety Commission | Private Travel (see all terms)
Source Name
Washington Post
Snippit
The chief of the Consumer Product Safety Commission and her predecessor have taken dozens of trips at the expense of the toy, appliance and children's furniture industries and others they regulate, according to internal records obtained by The Washington Post. Some of the trips were sponsored by lobbying groups and lawyers representing the makers of products linked to consumer hazards.
Senate Looks to Fix Travel Rule
Written by Paul Blumenthal on September 26, 2007 - 9:57am.
Read more: Private Travel (see all terms)
Read more: Private Travel (see all terms)
Source Name
Roll Call
Snippit
The Senate Rules and Administration Committee is discussing ways to clarify a provision in the new ethics law that has effectively blocked Senators from booking seats on multiple flights home at one time, and at least one key GOP Senator says he is considering a legislative remedy for the massive travel headache.
Members Flying High in City of Light
Written by Paul Blumenthal on July 18, 2007 - 9:17am.
Read more: Ethics Rules | Lobbying/Ethics Reform | Private Travel (see all terms)
Read more: Ethics Rules | Lobbying/Ethics Reform | Private Travel (see all terms)
Source Name
Roll Call
Snippit
The new ethics environment may have marked the end of the affair between Capitol Hill decision-makers and their lobbyist suitors. But they’ll always have Paris.
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Today's Ethics Watch
Seats of Power: A Return to Skybox Lobbying?: Not long ago, lobbyists regularly entertained lawmakers and their aides in skyboxes at local sports arenas. But after a series of scandals on Capitol Hill, the law was changed to forbid congressional officials from accepting anything of value from lobbyists without repayment -- let alone the best seats in the house. (Washington Post)
Companies Start to Lift Veil on Political Spending: Ever wonder how much companies really spend to influence government through trade associations? Well, a few corporations are coming clean, or at least cleaner. (Washington Post)
Dems, GOP together nix Murtha earmark: Democrats and Republicans joined together to strip a pet project of Rep. John Murtha’s (D-Pa.) from the 2009 intelligence authorization bill — the same project Democrats defended last year. (The Hill)
NAPA launches collaboration Web site: If you’ve ever wished your federal agency could adopt wikis, use YouTube or delve into the virtual world but feared the security, technology and political barriers were too high to overcome, take heart. You’ve got supporters, and they have success stories. (NextGov)
Jefferson lawyers cite race case in change of venue request: Rep. William Jefferson’s (D-La.) lawyers have asked a federal judge to reconsider a ruling denying a change of venue for his corruption trial. (The Hill)
Jefferson Tries New Argument: Rep. William Jefferson (D-La.) has asked a federal court to use an international criminal law treaty to force the depositions of three people in Nigeria who have been implicated in corruption charges levied against him. (Roll Call)
Foreign Gifts Test Rules: Even as new ethics restrictions have made it difficult for Members and staff to accept gifts — aside from token baseball caps or T-shirts — one area remains where lawmakers and their staffs can collect trinkets more or less guilt-free: foreign travel. (Roll Call)
K St.’s ‘Max Out’ Crowd: The 20 top K Street donors this election cycle have handed federal candidates nearly $1.8 million in personal cash. The majority of that money, $1.3 million, has gone to help Democrats as the party in charge of Capitol Hill looks to expand its majority. (Roll Call)
Senator’s Ties to Real Estate Draw Criticism: He has made millions as a title insurance executive, landlord and real estate developer in this college town, where the economy, despite trouble nationwide, is still growing nicely. Now, as a United States senator, with the mortgage mess fueling a national economic slowdown, Richard C. Shelby has more say over the revamping of housing finance laws than almost anyone else in Congress. (New York Times)
Oil Lobby Reaches Out to Citizens Peeved at the Pump: Faced with a national outcry over the high price of gasoline and soaring profits for energy companies, the oil and gas industry is waging an unusually pricey campaign to burnish its image. (Washington Post)
Lawmakers Accused of Flouting Rules on Use of Staff: Democratic Reps. Jane Harman and Neil Abercrombie spent more than $2 million on their 2006 reelection campaigns but paid only $5,000 to campaign workers, according to campaign finance reports. (Washington Post)
[ More in the Archive ]
Companies Start to Lift Veil on Political Spending: Ever wonder how much companies really spend to influence government through trade associations? Well, a few corporations are coming clean, or at least cleaner. (Washington Post)
Dems, GOP together nix Murtha earmark: Democrats and Republicans joined together to strip a pet project of Rep. John Murtha’s (D-Pa.) from the 2009 intelligence authorization bill — the same project Democrats defended last year. (The Hill)
NAPA launches collaboration Web site: If you’ve ever wished your federal agency could adopt wikis, use YouTube or delve into the virtual world but feared the security, technology and political barriers were too high to overcome, take heart. You’ve got supporters, and they have success stories. (NextGov)
Jefferson lawyers cite race case in change of venue request: Rep. William Jefferson’s (D-La.) lawyers have asked a federal judge to reconsider a ruling denying a change of venue for his corruption trial. (The Hill)
Jefferson Tries New Argument: Rep. William Jefferson (D-La.) has asked a federal court to use an international criminal law treaty to force the depositions of three people in Nigeria who have been implicated in corruption charges levied against him. (Roll Call)
Foreign Gifts Test Rules: Even as new ethics restrictions have made it difficult for Members and staff to accept gifts — aside from token baseball caps or T-shirts — one area remains where lawmakers and their staffs can collect trinkets more or less guilt-free: foreign travel. (Roll Call)
K St.’s ‘Max Out’ Crowd: The 20 top K Street donors this election cycle have handed federal candidates nearly $1.8 million in personal cash. The majority of that money, $1.3 million, has gone to help Democrats as the party in charge of Capitol Hill looks to expand its majority. (Roll Call)
Senator’s Ties to Real Estate Draw Criticism: He has made millions as a title insurance executive, landlord and real estate developer in this college town, where the economy, despite trouble nationwide, is still growing nicely. Now, as a United States senator, with the mortgage mess fueling a national economic slowdown, Richard C. Shelby has more say over the revamping of housing finance laws than almost anyone else in Congress. (New York Times)
Oil Lobby Reaches Out to Citizens Peeved at the Pump: Faced with a national outcry over the high price of gasoline and soaring profits for energy companies, the oil and gas industry is waging an unusually pricey campaign to burnish its image. (Washington Post)
Lawmakers Accused of Flouting Rules on Use of Staff: Democratic Reps. Jane Harman and Neil Abercrombie spent more than $2 million on their 2006 reelection campaigns but paid only $5,000 to campaign workers, according to campaign finance reports. (Washington Post)
[ More in the Archive ]