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Posts Tagged ‘State and Federal Communications’
Friday, October 1st, 2010 by Vbhotla
GOP members of the House Ethics Committee want Rep. Zoe Lofgren to just schedule trials for Reps. Waters and Rangel already! (Roll Call)
Jack Abramoff was spotted in Dupont Circle on Tuesday, having a discussion with some friends about “writing a book,” according to Roll Call.
Rep. Zack Space (D-Ohio) has been a public proponent of cutting lobbyists’ ability to give campaign contributions, and has also pledged not to accept any lobbyist campaign contributions himself. The GOP is hitting Rep. Space by claiming that his acceptance of “special interest” PAC money and contributions from lobbyists’ family members constitutes the same thing.
State and Federal Communications has a new e-newsletter up – “Compliance Now, October 2010.”
Good government groups point out the continued absence of the Ethics.gov website. Article from The Hill.
Advocacy is all about customization, according to Amy Showalter.
Rep. Chellie Pingree (D-Maine) was getting in hot water from several groups for her use of a private jet… but the airplane was cleared for her use by the Ethics Committee, since it is owned by her fiance.
Quote of the Week:
“There is definitely a big distance from President Obama’s Ethics.gov campaign promise and what they have done so far… They are failing to live up to their promise, but their promise was aimed very high.” – John Wonderlich, policy director for the Sunlight Foundation, The Hill, 10/1/10
Tags: Advocacy, amy showalter, ethics.gov, House ethics, Jack Abramoff, John Wonderlich, Rep. Chellie Pingree, Rep. Zack Space, State and Federal Communications
Posted in Weekly Lobbying News Round-Up | Comments Off on Weekly Lobbying News Round-Up
Friday, September 3rd, 2010 by Vbhotla
The FEC’s two newest final rules were published on Aug. 27, along with two advisory opinions. See our post on that here, and the FEC’s press release here.
State and Federal Communications’ excellent blog LobbyComply has this interesting piece on the origin of the term “lobbyist.” See State and Fed’s always-useful Compliance Now newsletter for updates on state-level lobbying and compliance.
It seems like House Ethics is always in the news these days. The Office of Congressional Ethics voted to refer several lawmakers for potential violations of ethics rules. Reps. Crowley, Campbell (of California), and Price (of Georgia) were under scrutiny for their votes on financial services reform.
Speaking of House Ethics, Point of Order blog discusses the differences and similarities between Rep. Maxine Waters’ case and Rep. Sam Graves’ case (which was dismissed earlier this year).
The FEC’s RECORD newsletter is now available from their website, here. (PDF)
The Political Affairs Council has an interesting post on Corporate Social Responsibility and the role of CSR in today’s economy.
Open Secrets blog reports on the environment for campaign finance reformers. See post here, “Campaign Finance Reformers Facing Major Political, Legal Obstacles.”
Quote of the week:
“The next president of the United States on January 21, 2013 – – is going to start lobbying… He’s going to be lobbying Congress, he’s going to be lobbying other countries. He’s going to be lobbying the business community. He’s going to be lobbying the labor unions, the governors, because that’s what presidents do, and I feel like it’s an advantage for me to have the chance to do that.” – Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour (R), on whether his past as a lobbyist makes him a good potential candidate for president in 2012. (Politico, 9/1/2010)
Tags: ethics committee, FEC, Haley Barbour, Public Affairs Council, Rep. Maxine Waters, Rep. Sam Graves, State and Federal Communications
Posted in Weekly Lobbying News Round-Up | Comments Off on Weekly Lobbying News Round-Up
Friday, August 6th, 2010 by Vbhotla
The amendment to the Lobbying Disclosure Act catches the eyes of the fine folks over at OMB Watch. “Bill Would Create a Task Force for Enforcing the LDA.”
PMA Group President Paul Magliocchetti was indicted on 11 counts in a federal court on Thursday. According to Politico’s report on the indictment, Magliocchetti “sought to enrich both PMA and himself by increasing the firm’s influence, power and prestige — both among the firm’s base of current and potential clients as well as among the elected public officials to whom PMA and its lobbyists sought access.” A good round-up of stories on the charges is at Political Activity Law. The Department of Justice’s press release is here, “Lobbyist Indicted for Orchestrating Illegal Campaign Contribution Scheme.” Look for our story on the PMA Group in our free bi-weekly regulatory alert email, the Government Relations Alert, on Monday.
This spring’s Republican moratorium on earmarks leads to … wait for it … less earmarks! From The Hill,
“Self-imposed Republican moratorium leads to drop in 2011 earmark spending.”
Rep. Waters wants in on the ethics trial thing too! Well, more accurately, she at least wants her name cleared before November’s elections. Politico’s latest story is here, “Waters asks for release of allegations.”
State & Federal Communications’ Compliance Now newsletter is now available. State & Fed has also started an excellent blog, “Lobby Comply.”
Other political law and campaign finance newsletter updates:
Womble Carlyle’s Political GPS
Holtzman Vogel’s Political Law Update
Quote of the Week:
“The [anti-special interest] rhetoric is BS… Every time the president talks about it, we get a client.” – unnamed “lobbyist,” Roll Call, 8/1/2010
Tags: Earmarks, Holtzman Vogel, LDA amendments, OMB Watch, Paul Magliocchetti, pma group, Rep. Maxine Waters, State and Federal Communications, Womble Carlyle
Posted in Weekly Lobbying News Round-Up | Comments Off on Weekly Lobbying News Round-Up
Friday, July 2nd, 2010 by Vbhotla
Eric Brown tips us off to an LDA amendment: originally the bill sought to amend the Federal Election Campaign Act, but now amends the Lobbying Disclosure Act to “prohibit any registered lobbyist whose clients include foreign governments which are found to be sponsors of international terrorism or include other foreign nationals from making contributions and other campaign-related disbursements in elections for public office”; bill text is now available from the GPO here (H.R. 5609).
Big acquisition by Patton Boggs reported: Breaux Lott Leadership Group will now be a wholly-owned subsidiary of Patton Boggs; former Senators John Breaux (D-La.) and Trent Lott (R-Miss.) and their small but “effective” boutique lobbying firm will join the large team at Patton Boggs, starting immediately. Bonus (because it’s Friday): did you know Trent Lott’s given name is Chester Trent Lott? His son (also a member of the lobbying group) bears the same name. Now you know. Read about the “strategic coup” at the Blog of Legal Times.
Time profiles Lobbyists and their Return on Investment, in a series of short lobbyist/issue/payoff profiles.
Ex-Rep. John Campbell was taken down by the Jack Abramoff affair; Roll Call profiles Campbell’s life since 2005.
House Ethics Clears Rep. Richardson. The Committee on Standards of Official Conduct released its report in the matter of Rep. Laura Richardson (D-Calif.) and cleared her of any wrongdoing in the mortgage matter. (link is a PDF)
Two great compliance / political law resources to take to the beach with you over your long holiday weekend:
Quote of the week:
“The irony of it is that every time the president says we lobbyists have all this influence, people who don’t have a lobbyist want one… He exaggerates our power, but he increases demand for our services.” – Tony Podesta, Podesta Group, NYTimes article on the “Superlobbyist,” July 1.
Happy 4th of July Holiday Weekend from all of us at Lobby Blog!
Tags: Breaux Lott, Covington & Burling, Ethics, FECA, John Campbell, Laura Richardson, LDA, lobbyists, Patton Boggs, Podesta Group, State and Federal Communications, Tony Podesta
Posted in Weekly Lobbying News Round-Up | Comments Off on Weekly Lobbying News Round-Up
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