Lobbying and Ethics

Feb 8, 2016

Top 400 Taxpayers See Tax Rates Rise, But There’s More to the Story

As Americans were gathering party supplies to greet the New Year, the Internal Revenue Service released their annual report of cumulative tax data reported on the 400 tax r...

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Feb 4, 2016

Chlorine Bleach Plants Needlessly Endanger 63 Million Americans

Chlorine bleach plants across the U.S. put millions of Americans in danger of a chlorine gas release, a substance so toxic it has been used as a chemical weapon. Greenpeace’s new repo...

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Jan 25, 2016

U.S. Industrial Facilities Reported Fewer Toxic Releases in 2014

The Toxics Release Inventory (TRI) data for 2014 is now available. The good news: total toxic releases by reporting facilities decreased by nearly six percent from 2013 levels. Howe...

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Jan 22, 2016

Methane Causes Climate Change. Here's How the President Plans to Cut Emissions by 40-45 Percent.

UPDATE (Jan. 22, 2016): Today, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) released its proposed rule to reduce methane emissions...

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After Much Delay, House Lobbying and Ethics Package Complete

May 25, 2007 by Amanda Adams*

Yesterday House members overcame any internal disagreement to finally pass H.R. 2316, with a final vote of 396-22. During much of the debate yesterday Republicans were challenging the Democrat's promise of addressing political corruption. Judiciary Chairman Conyers accepted a Republican motion to recommit, expanding both of the lobby bills.

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House Set to Vote on Lobby Reform

May 24, 2007 by Amanda Adams*

The House lobby and ethics reform package is scheduled for a floor vote today after the Rules Committee reported out a single rule late Wednesday night that sets up separate floor votes on the overall lobbying package, H.R. 2316 and the bundling bill H.R. 2317. The committee did not allow debate on a number of amendments, including doubling the one-year lobbying ban on former lawmakers and staff directly lobbying their former colleagues. Dropping this provision has already brought very negative media attention. From a New York Times editorial yesterday :

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House Vote on Ethics and Lobbying Reform Bill Set for Thursday

May 22, 2007 by Kay Guinane

On Thursday May 24, the House of Representatives is expected to vote on The Honest Leadership and Open Government Act of 2007 (H.R. 2316). This vote reflects the leadership's pledge to pass fundamental ethics and lobbying reform. The legislation contains several important reforms that represent progress in making the government more accountable and transparent to the electorate.

Requires electronic disclosure and public access on a searchable website

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House Reform Members Might Get Slammed by "Revolving Door"

May 21, 2007 by Dana Chasin

Late last week, the House leadership agreed to remove the "revolving door" provision from the lobbying and ethics bill. The bill is scheduled to reach the House floor for a vote this Thursday, right before Congress leaves for Memorial Day. The revolving door provision in the Senate version of the bill calls for a two-year "cooling off period" after members retire from Congress before they are allowed to lobby their former colleagues.

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Two Lobbying Reform Bills Approved By House Judiciary Committee, But Grassroots Disclosure Amendment Rejected

May 17, 2007 by Kay Guinane

Earlier today, the House Judiciary Committee approved two lobbying reform bills — The Lobbying Transparency Act (H.R. 2317) and The Honest Leadership and Open Government Act of 2007 (H.R. 2316). A proposed amendment offered by Rep. Martin Meehan (D-MA) on grassroots lobbying disclosure, however, was rejected by the Committee. The Committee approved H.R. 2316 after Chairman John Conyers (D-MI) successfully added a Manager's amendment, which resulted in three key changes to the bill:

Stripped from the bill the proposed extension of the revolving door ban from one to two years;

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Citizens Have a Right to Know About Lobbying Efforts

May 16, 2007
By Gary D. Bass
Special to Roll Call
Reprinted with permission
In a May 10 Roll Call Guest Observer ("Citizens Don't Need 'Protection' From Lobbying"), Douglas Johnson and Caroline Fredrickson posed a question: "Do ordinary citizens need to be protected from groups that may urge them to contact their elected Representatives in Congress about some pending bill?" The authors were referring to H.R. 2093, the latest proposal to shine a light on who is behind big-money, federal grass-roots lobbying expenditures.

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Dems File Long Awaited Lobby Reform Bills, Grassroots Disclosure Not Included

May 16, 2007 by Amanda Adams*

Late Tuesday night, the Democratic leadership in the House filed two lobby reform bills. H.R. 2316, The Honest Leadership and Open Government Act of 2007, is the main reform vehicle. It does not include grassroots lobbying reform, but does address the revolving door by expanding the "cooling off" period before ex-members of Congress can lobby; require electronic disclosure and public access on a searchable website; and address other ethics issues.

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House Lobby Reform Bill Expected to Move Soon

The leadership in the House has been working on its legislation to reform lobbying disclosure and ethics practices and is expected to unveil the plan today, May 15, or tomorrow, May 16, with a mark-up of the bill in the Judiciary Committee expected May 17. Despite repeated statements that a bill will be filed soon, controversy over grassroots lobbying disclosure, limits on bundling of campaign contributions by registered lobbyists and expansion of the cooling off period before ex-members of Congress can lobby have stalled progress. Rumors abound that the Democratic leadership bill will address the revolving door issue by doubling the cooling off period to two years. But the other two issues — grassroots lobbying disclosure and bundling of campaign contributions — are not likely to be addressed, although the leadership seems willing to have them offered as amendments or separate bills.

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Grassroots Lobbying Disclosure Discussion Continue: Until Maybe Next Week?

May 10, 2007 by Amanda Adams*

An article in BNA Money and Politics ($$) reports unsurprisingly that the House Judiciary Committee has put off the tentative plan to consider lobbying and ethics reform on May 11, stressing once again the struggle to reach an agreement in constructing language for the bill. Democratic leaders are reportedly continuing to work on the details of a bill. The article also extensively quotes a letter that OMB Watch sent to House offices urging their support of grassroots lobbying disclosure.

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OMB Watch Urges House to Support Disclosure of Grassroots Lobbying Expenditures

On May 8, OMB Watch sent a letter to the House of Representatives, urging members to support the disclosure of federal grassroots lobbying expenditures. The letter stresses that disclosure of funding sources, particularly those behind big money grassroots lobbying campaigns, is a critical element in rooting out corruption and establishing a system that creates public trust.

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