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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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S. 2590
Federal Funding Accountability and Transparency Act Becomes Law
I was lucky enough to be invited to the bill signing ceremony for S. 2590, the Federal Funding Accountability and Transparency Act of 2006, at the Old Executive Office Building this morning. President Bush's remarks are here; Glenn Reynolds has a post here; and Mark Tapscott previewed the event this morning. It was nice to meet the two of them in the flesh, as well as a fair number of the folks who are part of the Exposing Earmarks coalition.
Written by Bill Allison on September 26, 2006 - 10:37am.
Read more: Federal Contracting | Federal Grants | Federal Spending | Open Government | S. 2590 (see all terms)
Earmark Reform Faltering
Members of the House Appropriations Committee appear to be balking at the prospect of change in House rules that would attach the names of lawmakers to the earmarks they've inserted into spending bills. As the Times article notes, this rather modest change would apply only to the House (not the Senate), and would exempt defense earmarks (where the real money is) from scrutiny. I've noted before that there are ways around the disclosure provisions proposed in the rules change, which potentially could make it harder to identify who's getting earmarks, because lawmakers could use obscure descriptions--any company incorporated in Harrison, N.Y., in 1923--to avoid the rule's requirement that they take credit for their earmarks. Still, with all it's limitations, this measure would shine a little light on spending bills already drafted but not yet passed--even a modest disclosure measure is better than none.
Written by Bill Allison on September 14, 2006 - 12:51pm.
Read more: Earmark Reform | House Appropriations Committee | Jerry Lewis | porkbusters | S. 2590 (see all terms)
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Today's Ethics Watch
Access to contractor misconduct database restricted in Senate bill: A bill mandating the creation of a federal contractor misconduct database is one step closer to becoming law, but a lack of support in the Senate has forced Sen. Claire McCaskill, D-Mo., its primary sponsor, to limit access only to government officials. (GovExec)
Ex-CIA Official Indicted Over Agency Job for Mistress: A federal grand jury has accused a former top CIA official of pulling strings to get a high-level CIA job for his mistress, as part of a new indictment against the official in an existing corruption case. (Washington Post)
House panel wants greater oversight of ‘shared employees’: A House panel agreed Wednesday that greater oversight of staffers who work for more than one member is needed along with a set of guidelines to prevent future cases of fraud from occurring in offices. (The Hill)
Another ‘Shared’ Aide Investigated: House Inspector General James Cornell told a House committee on Wednesday that his office has uncovered a second “shared employee” who appears to have been improperly billing Member offices for expenses. (Roll Call)
Former CIA official indicted anew in bribery case: A new indictment of a former top CIA official alleges that he received bribes in the form of "sexual companionship" from a friend seeking an edge in landing multimillion-dollar contracts from the agency. (AP)
‘Shared’ Staffers Draw Scrutiny: The House Inspector General and Chief Administrative Officer want tighter supervision of the financial and technical staffers who work for multiple Congressional offices following a scandal in which a “shared employee” was caught embezzling money from Member office accounts. (Roll Call)
Panel nixes Bush order on earmarks: House Democrats have escalated their shoving match with the White House over so-called “air-dropped” earmarks. (The Hill)
Boehner Remains Defiant Over Earmark Web Site: House Minority Leader John Boehner (R-Ohio) continues to defy an order to take down his Web site touting earmark reform — and the House Administration Committee has yet to push back on the issue. (Roll Call)
For Campaign Contributions by the Wheelbarrow, the Back Door Is Open: Surely a presidential contest between such well-known campaign finance reformers as Barack Obama and John McCain will be free of big donations from fat cats, right? Not really. (Washington Post)
Not All Earmarks Are Paid in Full, and a Senator Wants to Know Why: In early 2005, the office of Senator Ben Nelson received a curious phone call. Officials from the University of Nebraska told him that they had not received all of a $1 million medical research earmark he had secured for them. The Department of Defense, the agency controlling the money, was withholding 12 percent of the total to oversee the project. (New York Times)
The Limits and Promise of Interactive Politics Online: Everything moves so fast in the world of online politics -- the new online donors! the new Web videos! the new anti-Obama site or pro-McCain site! -- that introspection is often lacking. (Washington Post)
[ More in the Archive ]
Ex-CIA Official Indicted Over Agency Job for Mistress: A federal grand jury has accused a former top CIA official of pulling strings to get a high-level CIA job for his mistress, as part of a new indictment against the official in an existing corruption case. (Washington Post)
House panel wants greater oversight of ‘shared employees’: A House panel agreed Wednesday that greater oversight of staffers who work for more than one member is needed along with a set of guidelines to prevent future cases of fraud from occurring in offices. (The Hill)
Another ‘Shared’ Aide Investigated: House Inspector General James Cornell told a House committee on Wednesday that his office has uncovered a second “shared employee” who appears to have been improperly billing Member offices for expenses. (Roll Call)
Former CIA official indicted anew in bribery case: A new indictment of a former top CIA official alleges that he received bribes in the form of "sexual companionship" from a friend seeking an edge in landing multimillion-dollar contracts from the agency. (AP)
‘Shared’ Staffers Draw Scrutiny: The House Inspector General and Chief Administrative Officer want tighter supervision of the financial and technical staffers who work for multiple Congressional offices following a scandal in which a “shared employee” was caught embezzling money from Member office accounts. (Roll Call)
Panel nixes Bush order on earmarks: House Democrats have escalated their shoving match with the White House over so-called “air-dropped” earmarks. (The Hill)
Boehner Remains Defiant Over Earmark Web Site: House Minority Leader John Boehner (R-Ohio) continues to defy an order to take down his Web site touting earmark reform — and the House Administration Committee has yet to push back on the issue. (Roll Call)
For Campaign Contributions by the Wheelbarrow, the Back Door Is Open: Surely a presidential contest between such well-known campaign finance reformers as Barack Obama and John McCain will be free of big donations from fat cats, right? Not really. (Washington Post)
Not All Earmarks Are Paid in Full, and a Senator Wants to Know Why: In early 2005, the office of Senator Ben Nelson received a curious phone call. Officials from the University of Nebraska told him that they had not received all of a $1 million medical research earmark he had secured for them. The Department of Defense, the agency controlling the money, was withholding 12 percent of the total to oversee the project. (New York Times)
The Limits and Promise of Interactive Politics Online: Everything moves so fast in the world of online politics -- the new online donors! the new Web videos! the new anti-Obama site or pro-McCain site! -- that introspection is often lacking. (Washington Post)
[ More in the Archive ]