BNA Money and Politics (subscription required) reported that on January 12 a federal appeals court ruled that the group Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) did not have the needed legal standing to sue the Federal Election Commission (FEC). The FEC found that Americans for Tax Reform (ATR) improperly provided a contact list to the President Bush's re-election campaign. CREW then filed an enforcement complaint against the FEC, arguing that the list was worth more than the FEC considered.

Within minutes of our blog below on the earmark disclosure debate in the Senate, word issues that Majority Leader Harry Reid will support the DeMint amendment in most particulars and move as early as next Tuesday to a cloture vote on S. 1, with a vote on the bill expected later in the week. Per a CQ article ($$) and a call with a senior Reid staffer, the new compromise amendment will:

• require disclosure of earmarks on the internet 48 hours before a floor vote
• define specific projects within federal agencies as earmarks

Senate consideration of >S. 1, the Legislative Transparency and Accountability Act of 2007 (discussed >here), veered off course of plans carefully plotted by Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) and Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) yesterday, when Sen. Jim DeMint (R-SC) introduced an amendment that would greatly expand the scope of earmarks covered under S. 1. DeMint says that S. 1 would not require the disclosure of about 95 percent of all actual earmarks. Yesterday, the Senate rejected a motion to table (i.e., to kill) the DeMint amendment by a 51-46 vote.

Yesterday the Supreme Court heard in a single argument combining Davenport v. Washington Education Association, and Washington v. Washington Education Association. At issue in this case is whether a union can use mandatory dues for political purposes without first getting the teacher's permission. As reported in BNA; "A Washington campaign finance law requiring unions to obtain individual nonmembers' consent to use their agency fees for political purposes does not violate unions' First Amendment rights, Washington Attorney General Robert M. McKenna and Solicitor General Paul D.