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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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Transportation Department
Tracking Contractors and Lobbyists, and a Congressional Intervention
Add to the list of Freedom of Information Act requests sent out in pursuit of forms SF-LLL one requesting information related to the contract mentioned in this April 20, 2005, story from the Hill, concerning a federal effort to develop and distribute "intelligent transportation technology." As I understand it, this technology lets users access traffic information in real time, to see where tie-ups are and, hopefully, avoid them on their way home. (I think Al Gore might have had this system on his mind during the 2000 campaign, when he made livability one of his themes.) Right now, you can see what such a system would look like at Traffic.com, in part because Traffic.com (actually, its government services division known as Mobility Technologies) was the company that, in 1998, was awarded a federal contract to develop the technology in a few, test cities. Here's The Hill on what happened in 2001, when intelligent transportation technology was supposed to be offered to 50 additional cities:
Written by Bill Allison on February 9, 2007 - 5:24pm.
Read more: Federal Contracts | Form SF-LLL | Real time investigation | SF-LLL | Transportation Department (see all terms)
Current Projects
Fortune 535 Running the numbers on congressional wealth
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Where Are They Now? Former Congressional Staffers head through the Revolving Door on to K Street.
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Past Projects
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Congressional Web Site Investigation:Employing citizen oversight to find out if we are getting our money’s worth from congressional Web sites.
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 ]