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10 Dec 09

Obama Administration on Open Government: More than Rhetoric? « UNREDACTED

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US politics obama reform state secrets security intelligence transparency googlegovernment style lobbying lobbyists

To date, there have been some positive signs that the Obama Administration has been trying to shift the federal government away from the excessive secrecy that characterized the Bush 43 Administration. Many of these efforts, however, have been small steps that impact only a limited area of federal activity—although in some cases those have been important areas. Many open government advocates, however, have been frustrated that the inauguration of President Obama did not lead to a dramatic opening up of federal agency filing cabinets (and databases). More critically, many of the hardest secrecy issues that arose during the prior administration are still not resolved or have not been resolved favorably, from the open government perspective.
to proactively make its visitor records public, is the type of action that is largely in control of the White House itself and that requires little buy-in from other agencies (although we have heard that the national security establishment objected and tried to hold it up).
11 more annotations...
- sets a precedent for the public’s ability to learn who is trying to influence policy at the White House
- the reform of procedures for invoking state secrets privilege by the Department of Justice involves more rigorous review of the decision at the Department of Justice.
- Indeed, some decisions seemed to perpetuate the secrecy of the prior eight years, including the decision to sign legislation passed by Congress that barred the release of images of detainee abuse and the continuing effort to obtain dismissal of a number of lawsuits related to warrantless surveillance and rendition.
- The three principles of transparency, participation and collaboration form the cornerstone of an open government. Transparency promotes accountability by providing the public with information about what the Government is doing. Participation allows members of the public to contribute ideas and expertise so that their government can make policies with the benefit of information that is widely dispersed in society. Collaboration improves the effectiveness of Government by encouraging partnerships and cooperation within the federal government, across levels of government, and between the government and private institutions.
- What doesn’t it do? It does not include any negative incentives for failure.
- Summary of the Open Government Timetable
- Within 45 Days
- Each agency must register three high-value data sets that have not previously been available online in a downloadable format via Data.gov.
- Within 60 Days
- Within 90 Days
  
  The Deputy Director for Management at OMB will issue guidance on the use of challenges, prizes, and incentives to encourage open government.
- Within 120 Days

04 Dec 09

How We Have "Already Changed" Washington | The White House

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transparency politics US reference statistics obama lobbyists lobbying

The Congressional Research Service has released a report concluding that President Obama's historic reforms to the culture of lobbying in Washington have "already changed the relationship between lobbyists and covered executive branch officials."

27 Nov 09

Backlash Grows Against NC Health Insurer's Anti-Reform Campaign | TPMMuckraker

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private insurance business corruption bcbs healthcare nc south lobbying mailer

A North Carolina health insurer is facing a major backlash in the wake of its campaign to enlist customers in the fight against health-care reform.
in the wake of its campaign to enlist customers in the fight against health-care reform.
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- The state's Insurance Commissioner has begun an inquiry into a mailer sent recently by Blue Cross Blue Shield of North Carolina -- and first revealed last month by TPMmuckraker -- that urged customers to lobby Senator Kay Hagan (D-N.C.) to vote against the public option. As we reported Tuesday, the state's Attorney General has opened his own probe of a barrage of follow-up robo-calls generated by the insurer.

New Obama policy bars lobbyists from federal advisory panels - washingtonpost.com

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US politics lobbying lobbyists statistics reference obama

Hundreds, if not thousands, of lobbyists are likely to be ejected from federal advisory panels as part of a little-noticed initiative by the Obama administration to curb K Street's influence in Washington, according to White House officials and lobbying experts.
The initiative is aimed at a system of advisory committees so vast that federal officials don't have exact numbers for its size; the most recent estimates tally nearly 1,000 panels with total membership exceeding 60,000 people.
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- Under the policy, which is being phased in over the coming months, none of the more than 13,000 lobbyists in Washington would be able to hold seats on the committees, which advise agencies on trade rules, troop levels, environmental regulations, consumer protections and thousands of other government policies.
- "It's taken me years to learn what the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade is," said Robert Vastine, a lobbyist for the Coalition of Service Industries who also serves as chairman of a trade advisory board. "It's a whole different and specialized world. It is not easily obtained knowledge, and they are crippling themselves terribly by ruling out all registered lobbyists."
- 1970s, when Congress approved the Federal Advisory Committee Act.

16 Nov 09

Rachel Maddow: Buyer's Remorse • VideoSift: Online Video *Quality Control

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conservatives republicans politics US lobbying lobbyists pharmaceuticals legislation money corruption steve buyer

09 Nov 09

Ryan Sager - Neuroworld – Neurovid: How to sell a dollar for more than a dollar - True/Slant

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US politics reference lobbying lobbyists money economics economy

05 Nov 09

Lobbying Against Climate Change Progress Multinational, Powerful, and (Apparently) Successful : TreeHugger

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climatechange US politics world statistics lobbyists lies lobbying reference

Now, the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists has completed a study showing that that sort of obstructionist lobbying and activism isn't just taking place in the United States, or even just in developed nations, but is taking place throughout the world:

30 Oct 09

During forged letter investigation hearing, coal industry lies under oath about its lobbying history « Climate Progress

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fraud coal lies energy pollution law politics climatechange lobbyists lobbying perjury

As the Wonk Room’s Brad Johnson has reported, ACCCE President and CEO Steve Miller lied under oath when he told the committee that his organization has never opposed clean energy legislation.
Miller’s claim is another example of the coal industry’s perjury under oath. In a six month period of 2007 alone, ACCCE, under its previous name of Americans for Balanced Energy Choices, spent $2,660,000 lobbying the federal government. Senate disclosures show that the organization has spent millions more lobbying since 2001.

29 Oct 09

While Aide Advised McCain, His Firm Lobbied for Georgia - washingtonpost.com

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2008presidentialelections politics conservatives republicans scheunemann georgia russia lobbying lobbyists mccain

Sen. John McCain's top foreign policy adviser prepped his boss for an April 17 phone call with the president of Georgia and then helped the presumptive Republican presidential nominee prepare a strong statement of support for the fledgling republic.
The day of the call, a lobbying firm partly owned by the adviser, Randy Scheunemann, signed a $200,000 contract to continue providing strategic advice to the Georgian government in Washington.
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- The McCain campaign said Georgia's lobbying contract with Orion Strategies had no bearing on the candidate's decision to speak with President Mikheil Saakashvili and did not influence his statement. "The Embassy of Georgia requested the call," said campaign spokesman Brian Rogers.
- At the time of McCain's call, Scheunemann had formally ceased his own lobbying work for Georgia, according to federal disclosure reports. But he was still part of Orion Strategies, which had only two lobbyists, himself and Mike Mitchell.

20 Oct 09

U.S. Chamber Disclosure Report No Hoax : NPR

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chamber of commerce US money spending business lobbying climatechange congress lobbyists

But in an announcement that wasn't fake, a disclosure report indicates the Chamber spent $35 million in the past three months alone to influence Congress and the administration.

07 Oct 09

Ensign: I 'Absolutely Did Nothing' That Violated Ethics Rules | TPM LiveWire

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US politics ensign republicans conservatives corruption lobbying lobbyists

a New York Times report that he flouted a lobbying ban by directing his staff to have contact with Doug Hampton -- his former mistress's husband -- in regard to Hampton's lobbying work.
Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-CA) confirmed on Sunday that the Senate Ethics Committee, which she chairs, has begun "a preliminary investigation" of Ensign.
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- When asked about a meeting with a Nevada airline which the Times reported Ensign had helped Hampton get a lobbying contract with, Ensign said "all of these things will come out at their due time. But there's no question, we complied with all of the ethics rules."
- "But not about clients, and not about matters that they're lobbying for," Barrett shot back.
  
  "I never met with that captain about any of that stuff," Ensign said.
  
  Barrett: "But your staff did."