Blog: The Fine Print / posts by Amanda Adams*

FEC Will Allow Hearings of Accused Violators

Dec 1, 2006 by Amanda Adams*

BNA Money and Politics and Roll Call (subscription required) have reported on the FEC decision to go forward with a pilot program that allows those accused of violating campaign finance rules to have closed hearings whereby the commissioners will decide whether or not to take on the case. This change of enforcement procedures allows the accused to contest the charges. Some feel that this will only slow down the enforcement process. Two other measures were voted on:

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Nonprofit Agency?

Nov 30, 2006 by Amanda Adams*

The Federal Times reports that nonprofit leaders are advocating for the creation of a new agency that would regulate the nonprofit sector. The IRS is the main agency dealing with nonprofits because of the tax code, but no agency strictly deals with supporting, monitoring, and regulating nonprofit organizations. The nonprofit sector is also increasingly growing, which has caused increased Congressional interest.

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CREW Files Complaint Against Cuban Lobbying Group

Nov 30, 2006 by Amanda Adams*

The Miami Herald reported that Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics In Washington (CREW) filed a Federal Election Commission (FEC) complaint against Leopoldo Fernandez Pujals, a foreign national, and Mauricio Claver-Carone, Gus Machado, Cuba Democracy Advocates, Inc. and the US-Cuba Democracy PAC for violations of federal campaign finance law. CREW claims that the Cuban-American lobbying organization that favors tougher sanctions against Cuba broke FEC regulations by having illegal links to the nonprofit group Cuba Democracy Advocates Inc.

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2006 Election Analysis

Nov 30, 2006 by Amanda Adams*

Although there was no horrific voting catastrophe, the incidences that did occur should be recognized. For example, there were reports of voting system problems and poll worker confusion over identification requirements. Electionline.org, a nonpartisan research group, released its first report on the 2006 Election. The report gives an overall summary of problems such as voter identification, voter registration, and electronic voting systems, a summary of the specific states they watched and a brief synopsis of each state. As the report notes; "Success is difficult to measure.

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Life For Relief and Development Sues Bank

Nov 27, 2006 by Amanda Adams*

As reported, Comerica Bank told the charity Life For Relief and Development that it planned to terminate their accounts on November 15. The group was granted an extension, but now the charity has filed a lawsuit against the bank charging that their civil liberties have been violated by planning to close its accounts.

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FEC Dismisses Request for an Advisory Opinion

Nov 27, 2006 by Amanda Adams*

The organization Progress for America requested an advisory opinion from the Federal Elections Commission (FEC) for guidance on when a nonprofit organization can be considered an FEC-regulated political committee. In response, the FEC sent them a letter last week saying that an answer will not be given.

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What the Election Results Mean for Nonprofits

Nov 27, 2006 by Amanda Adams*

The Philanthropy Journal has a two part commentary written by Rick Cohen on what the election results mean for nonprofits. The first part has a summary of the nonprofit experience that the freshman class will bring to the 110th Congress. For example, John Yarmouth is the founder of the Center for Kentucky Progress, a state policy think-tank. There is also a run down of the key members who have left Congress. And of course, the Democrats are now capable of making lobbying reform an initial concern. "Moving lobbying reform would allow Sen.

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Ethics Package To Be Considered Piece by Piece

Nov 21, 2006 by Amanda Adams*

It is no secret that House leaders are planning a major ethics reform bill, but the package will be brought to the House floor piecemeal. This will ensure that each important proposal, such as banning gifts from lobbyists, is debated on and receives its own vote. This should also bring about more media attention and hopefully a positive glimpse into how Democrats will act as the majority party.

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Continued Documentation of Antiwar Groups

Nov 21, 2006 by Amanda Adams*

OMB Watch has reported on the Threat and Local Observation Notice (TALON) database before and now the New York Times is revealing that the database continues to hold information on peaceful, antiwar groups, such as simple antiwar planning meetings. TALON is used by the Defense Department to prevent attacks against the military. The head of the office that runs the database, Daniel J. Baur, commented that this information was never intended to be collected and,

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Punishment for Robo Calls

Nov 21, 2006 by Amanda Adams*

It is no secret that during this past election there was wide spread use of "robo calls". Voters were bombarded throughout the country with repetitive, deceptive calls and now legislators want to act on these misleading campaign methods. The incoming majority leader Harry Reid and other Democratic leaders have serious concerns about these calls and other unethical campaign practices utilized before the election. Rep. John Conyers has called for federal officials to investigate complaints about the calls, possibly resulting in hearings before the House Judiciary Committee. Most notably, Sen.

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