Lobbyists

New Laws Open Ethics Commission Hearings And Regulate Political Legal Defense Funds

8/9/2007 -- Raleigh - North Carolina Governor Mike Easley today signed legislation to open state Ethics Commission hearings and regulate funds set up to raise legal defense money for public officials. The bills are:

House Bill 1111: ''An act to make clarifying changes to the State Government Ethics Act, the Legislative Ethics Act and the lobbying laws.''    » read more »

Aug. 8, 2007 -- WASHINGTON, D.C. – In open letters, Public Citizen today urged the presidential candidates who use campaign bundlers – donors who collect money on behalf of candidates – to disclose more information about the activities of these super-fundraisers. Public Citizen is collecting information about bundlers on its interactive Web site, www.WhiteHouseforSale.org.    » read more »

Landmark Legislation Awaits the President’s Signature

Aug. 2, 2007 -- WASHINGTON, D.C. – Public Citizen heartily applauds the 110th Congress for delivering on its promise of enacting far-reaching lobbying and ethics reforms. Today, the Senate, following in the footsteps of the House of Representatives just two days ago, overwhelming approved S. 1 – the “Honest Leadership and Open Government Act of 2007” – whose bill number reflects the Senate’s professed priority for this legislation. The bill now awaits the signature of the president to become the law of the land.    » read more »

Le Mars, IA | August 06, 2007 -- LE MARS, IA -- Democratic candidate for president Barack Obama told Iowans today that he'd work with Senator Tom Harkin on the Farm Bill and stand up to the corporate mega-farm lobbyists who have long had too much influence over rural and agriculture policies that have hurt family farmers in Iowa and across America.    » read more »

Challenges Democratic Party to Lead the Way in Not Accepting Washington Lobbyist Money From This Day Forward

Aug 4, 2007 -- Chicago, Illinois – Speaking today at the YearlyKos Presidential Leadership Forum, Senator John Edwards issued a bold challenge for all candidates for federal public office to join him in not accepting campaign donations from federal lobbyists from this day forward.    » read more »

August 02, 2007 -- Washington, D.C. – U.S. Senator John McCain (R-AZ) today spoke on the floor of the U.S. Senate regarding the ethics and lobbying reform bill. The remarks as prepared for delivery are below.    » read more »

August 2, 2007 -- WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Barack Obama (D-IL) today delivered the following remarks on the Senate floor in support of the Honest Government and Leadership Act. This legislation would provide increased transparency and accountability, reduce the influence of lobbyists and special interests, and bring about the concrete changes we need in Washington. In January, Obama joined with Senator Russ Feingold (D-WI) to introduce Lobbying and Ethics Reform Act, which set a standard for strong ethics legislation this Congress.    » read more »

Kerry's "Duke Cunningham Act" Included in Sweeping Legislation

08/02/2007 -- WASHINGTON D.C. – Senator John Kerry applauded the passage of historic, sweeping ethics legislation reforms today, which will fundamentally change the way business is done in Washington. The law makes good on a promise Democrats made when they regained the majority in the House and Senate, which was to force much-needed reforms in the way Congress operates.    » read more »

August 2, 2007 -- WASHINGTON, D.C. – The U.S. Senate today, with the support of Missouri Senator Claire McCaskill, voted to enact sweeping ethics reforms that significantly tighten the rules related to earmarks and congressional lobbying. Already known among her colleagues as a fiscal conservative and a critic of the secretive earmark process, McCaskill spoke on Senate floor in favor of the overall package, suggesting there was still room for additional progress.    » read more »

August 2, 2007 -- Washington, DC – The U.S. Senate today approved a comprehensive ethics and lobbying reform bill, the Honest Leadership and Open Government Act, by a vote of 83-14.

Among its many provisions, the bill will slow the revolving door between Congress and the lobbying world, require disclosure of lobbyists who bundle campaign contributions, and increase transparency in the legislative process by requiring earmark transparency and preventing new earmarks from being added in the dead of night. (A summary of the bill can be found at the end of this press release.)    » read more »

June 29, 2007 -- Former lobbyist turned actor Fred Thompson is coming home to Washington, DC today to shore up support from his Capitol Hill friends as he tentatively prepares for a late entrance into the GOP presidential primary. While Thompson tries to run as an outsider, the truth is that Thompson is a well-heeled and well connected Washington insider adept at lobbying for his special interest clients, with a home just inside the D.C. Beltway.    » read more »

June 28, 2007 -- On Thursday, June 28, the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform will hold a hearing entitled “Waste, Fraud, and Abuse at K-Town: How Mismanagement Has Derailed DOD’s Largest Single Facility Construction Project.”

The hearing will review the preliminary findings of a Government Accountability Office investigation into the construction of the Kaiserslautern Military Community Center, a hotel and retail facility being built on the grounds of the Ramstein Air Base in Germany.    » read more »