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The Sunlight Foundation, a non-partisan group dedicated to exposing the influence of big money and politics in Congress, has set up a new Web site to help citizens find out the personal wealth of their representatives in Congress.
Harvard's world-renowned Berkman Center for Internet & Society is celebrating its tenth anniversary with a conference called Berkman@10. I'll report here on today's sessions, which were organized as a fairly conventional symposium (although as loosely as one could run it with 450 attendees). Tomorrow will be set up as an unconference, where the audience defines most of the topics and self-organizes into small-group discussions.
CRP Tracks Fundraising by Committee
The same distinctions that exist in research, advocacy, and legislation exist in the realms of political influence. Since committees are the real seat of specialized congressional knowledge and power, it's exciting to see CRP sort fundraising information by congressional committee, as currently highlighted on their Capital Eye blog.
Since this is often the way tht fundraisers are advertised (For $1500, see the chair of the ____ Committee, who controls ____ issue!!!!), public scutiny of this money should be organized in the same way. Advertising committee positions for fundraising seems only a few steps from the wanton corruption of Duke Cunningham's bribery menu; tracking fundraising by committee is a small step toward dispelling monied interests' undue policy influence.
Written by John Wonderlich on May 15, 2008 - 3:36pm.
WASHINGTON - Sen. Bob Corker's average net worth plummeted from $78.1 million in 2005 to a negative $1.8 million in 2006, according to a report compiled by the nonpartisan Sunlight Foundation, a government transparency watchdog.
WASHINGTON - Sen. Bob Corker's average net worth plummeted from $78.1 million in 2005 to a negative $1.8 million in 2006, according to a report compiled by the nonpartisan Sunlight Foundation, a government transparency watchdog.
Foundation, a government transparency watchdog.
Rep. Lynn Woolsey, D-Petaluma, has come a long way financially from her days as a single mother on welfare in the late 1960s, with a net worth of $681,511 in 2006, a watchdog group reported.
Woolsey's average net worth has more than quadrupled in the last 11 years, rising from $119,675 in 1995, according to the nonpartisan Sunlight Foundation.
In comparison, the average American family's average worth has increased 31 percent from 1995 to 2006, the group said.
Rep. Mike Thompson, D-St. Helena, had a 5 percent increase in net worth from $1.7 million in 1998 to $1.8 million in 2006.
But Thompson, a former state legislator and vineyard owner, and Woolsey, a former Petaluma city councilwoman and personnel agency owner, are comparative paupers among their 535 peers on Capitol Hill, many of them multi-millionaires whose fortunes have recently soared.
Two Californians, Rep. Jane Harman (D-Venice) and Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Vista), are the wealthiest federal lawmakers.
Harman, married to Harman International chairman Sidney Harman, had a worth of $409 million in 2006, up $168 million, or 70 percent, from $241 million in 2000.
Issa, who built a fortune in the electronics industry, ranks second at $337 million in 2006, but his gain of $210 million, or 165 percent since 2000 was the largest in Congress.
The Sunlight Foundation posted on its Web site the first-ever comparison of the House and Senate members' latest available net worth with their earlier disclosure statements. The forms don't require any explanation for shifts of fortune.
The group also noted that its figures should be taken "with a boulder-sized grain of salt," based on information from Congress' own "seriously flawed" disclosure system Rep. Lynn Woolsey, D-Petaluma, has come a long way financially from her days as a single mother on welfare in the late 1960s, with a net worth of $681,511 in 2006, a watchdog group reported.
WASHINGTON - Rep. Wally Herger is the 43rd wealthiest member of Congress, according to a study released Tuesday.
WASHINGTON --Hillary Clinton's average net worth, adjusted for inflation, grew from negative $6 million to $30.7 million between 2000 and 2006, the fastest financial climb in recent years for any member of Congress who started out with no assets, a political watchdog group reported Tuesday
The Sunlight Foundation is making it a little easier to find out. The open government advocacy group has launched a new web site Fortune 535 to let constituents see "how much - or how little -" lawmakers' wealth has grown in the last 11 years - the period of time from which lawmakers' personal financial data is available
The Sunlight Foundation , a group dedicated to pulling back the curtain on how government operates, launched a new website that lets voters sneak a peek at how well members of Congress have done for themselves in the past 11 years.
That's how long personal financial data has been available. Sunlight is putting it online on its new site, Fortune 535 .
The site also lets viewers compare the net worth of each lawmaker to that of the average American family and will list the wealthiest lawmakers.
Ellen Miller, executive director of Sunlight, said the information may surprise some people.
"Even though popular stereotypes tell us that lawmakers are all millionaires and get more wealthy the longer they serve in Congress, we found that every lawmaker profile is different," Miller said in a release.WASHINGTON - Propelled by her husband's post-White House earnings, Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton's net worth soared from red ink to $30.7 million between 2000 and 2006, the fastest financial climb among members of Congress who arrived without assets, a watchdog group said Tuesday
Current Projects
Fortune 535 Running the numbers on congressional wealth
PublicMarkup.org An experiment to open bills to online, public review.
Where Are They Now? Former Congressional Staffers head through the Revolving Door on to K Street.
Punch Clock Map: Putting congressional transparency on the map
Earmark Watch: Bringing Citizen Oversight to Congressional Spending
Wiki the Vote: Giving constituents the ability to report on candidates running for the House and Senate
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Ongoing Projects
Realtime Investigations: Follow along as Bill and Anu detail their investigative reporting adventures.
LOUIS is the beginning of a comprehensive, completely indexed and cross-referenced depository of federal documents.
The OpenHouse Project: Working to identify areas where Congress can open up and improve access to relevant and timely information.
OpenCongress: Bringing together official government information with news and blog coverage to give you the real story behind what's happening in Congress.
Past Projects
Visualizing Earmarks: Select Visualizations of 2005 OMB Earmark Data.
Mashup Congress and Win:
And the Winner is... Unfluence! We received more than a dozen entries to Sunlight's first Web 2.0 Mashup Contest.
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
No money coming to Young’s legal defense: Alaska congressman Don Young (R) is having trouble getting contributions to his legal defense fund. A document filed with the House Committee on Standards of Official Conduct shows “no activity” since the fund was approved by the committee on Jan. 9. (The Hill)
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)
[ More in the Archive ]
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)
[ More in the Archive ]