Making Government Transparent and Accountable
The Sunlight Foundation uses cutting-edge technology and ideas to make government transparent and accountable. Underlying all of our efforts is a fundamental belief that increased transparency will improve the public's confidence in government
The Sunlight Foundation Blog
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New Batch of White House Visitor Logs Released
Last Friday, the White House released a new batch of visitor logs covering last October, fulfilling a pledge they made last month. Over here at the Sunlight Labs, we took the logs and added them to the handy online, searchable database we created last month, so that you can see for yourself who is coming to the White House and why.
This is the first full month that has been release by the administration and adds almost 100,000 new records for October. As we mentioned back in January, this is a positive step by the Obama administration, and we are happy to see that they are committed to releasing this data in a timely basis.
We still don’t know how many records are being withheld, and for what purposes. It would be nice for the White House to release at least a number, and ultimately a justification (read: national security) for why those names have been redacted. None the less, this is still part of a much larger, unprecedented level of transparency on behalf of the administration.
One of the other problems with the White House visitor logs is that there is no real accurate way to ensure that if you see a “Samuel L. Jackson” in the logs, it’s actually the actor. It could just be another Sam. That’s why we caution you, when you are reading through the records and doing your own independent research not to jump to conclusions. Otherwise, happy hunting!
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It’s Our Money—Let’s Go Get It!
Money and power seduce before they corrupt. As evidence I have posted, in its entirety, an email urging VCs and others to join a meeting in Washington to figure out how to “march” into town to get their money. Promising inside access, tempting would-be attendees with the largess of the federal government, these folks ought to be ashamed. No wonder near everyone thinks government is a corrupt game for insiders. No wonder most Americans are cynical about government spending and corporate lobbyists.
DC is on fire and some of the top entrepreneurs on the planet will be marching into town with us in October! Will you join us?
Marc Sternberg here—President & COO of AlwaysOn—checking in. If you have not been in contact with one of our team members about presenting at our upcoming OnDC event in October, I would like to talk with you. We still have a few openings in the program, and this could be a HUGE business development opportunity for you.
OnDC focuses on the sectors most impacted by the federal government including greentech, on-demand computing and IT security, education, and the life sciences. Part of what is at stake is the more than $80 billion in proposed annual spending by the government on these industries.
It’s our money—let’s go get it!
……mail me with a time to chat, or call me directly at 310.403.3330.
OnDC 2009 will be held on October 19-21, 2009 at the Four Seasons (in Georgetown), and represent the most powerful gathering of entrepreneurs and VCs in DC this year!Big shots like Blair Levin of the FCC, Lt. General Minihan (ret.) USAF, Managing Director, Paladin Capital Group, Dixon Doll, General Partner, Doll Capital Management, Tim Draper, Managing General Partner, Draper Fisher Jurvetson, Michael Greeley, Partner, Flybridge Capital, John Backus, Founder & Managing Partner, New Atlantic and Bob Davis, General Partner, Highland Capital Partners will all be on hand
The most current line-up can be found here: http://alwayson.goingon.com/permalink/post/31788
At OnDC, over 50 breakout CEOs are taking advantage of this incredible business development opportunity by presenting a CEO Showcase live! (The CEO showcase package also includes a recorded video of your showcase posted on the AlwaysOn’s homepage and accessible for six months.) If you or one of your portfolio companies might be interested in this opportunity—let’s also connect on that ASAP!
Whether your team is looking for a big strategic deal with a major corporate partner, lining up your next round of financing, or creating some media and blogger buzz, OnDC delivers the insiders you need to meet.
As you can see, there is lots to catch up on, and we need to figure out how to get you in the OnDC program ASAP. Email me or call me directly at 310.403.3330 so we can discuss.
Best regards,
Marc B. Sternberg
President & COO
AlwaysOn (www.alwayson-network.com)
310-403-3330
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You Spin Me Right Round
Congress doesn’t spin records, they spin in revolving doors. And those doors are spinning faster than ever, according to a study from Public Citizen. The Politico reports on the study, which shows that between 1998 and 2004 a whopping 43 percent of retired lawmakers became lobbyists:
A study done in the post-Watergate era estimated that only 3 percent to 10 percent of retiring members of Congress became lobbyists.
But, from 1998 to 2004, 283 retired lawmakers became lobbyists — a whopping 43 percent of all retiring members, according to a study done by Public Citizen, a nonpartisan watchdog group.
In 2005, eight members joined lobbing firms, although only four ultimately registered to advocate on Capitol Hill. A year later, another nine members followed.
With another seat-cleansing November election apparently in the making, the lobbyist ranks are likely to swell again later this year.
While reforms passed in the Honest Leadership and Open Government Act were meant to stop the flow of lawmakers and staffers down the block to K Street, the cases of Al Wynn, Dennis Hastert, Trent Lott, and Richard Baker all show that the desire to cash in on connections on the Hill is not abating.
Unlike the video below, the revolving door in Washington doesn’t appear to be ready to break anytime soon:
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Lobbying Blowback
The food industry’s heavy lobbying over the past few years to reduce regulation and paperwork has turned into a “monkey’s paw” of sorts. As the AP says, “Be careful what you wish for; lest it may happen,” is certainly the lesson to be gleaned from the stupifying, and expected, blowback the food industry is receiving right now from their long lobbying effort. Here’s the run-down:
The food industry pressured the Bush administration to reduce paperwork that would have aided health investigators “quickly trace produce that sickens consumers.” The Bush administration also killed a plan to require electronic filing that would enable regulators and investigators to more rapidly search for the source of a food contamination outbreak in the case of an outbreak. The food industry spent millions on lobbying to stop these regulations, as evidenced in this chart from OpenSecrets.org:
The food companies worried about the costliness of these proposals and labeled them “burdensome,” saying that they could disrupt the availability of consumers’ favorite foods.”
Now, according to the AP, during the current salmonella outbreak the food industry has lost $250 million, food supplies have been disrupted, and 1,300 people have gotten sick in 43 states and the District of Columbia. So, even without the regulations the food industry got their food disruption, consumers can’t eat tomatoes or jalapenos (which are chief ingredients in salsa), and a lot of people got to get sick.
The AP calls these “unintended consequences.” I’d say they are totally predictable and the public should take their scorn out on the food industry and their lobbyists for engaging in activities that have made eating more dangerous.
This whole episode reminds me of this scene from Kentucky Fried Movie, where a satirical science film posits a world without zinc oxide:
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K Street Stalls
While many major K Street firms are still increasing their profits, the total improvement of profits over last year was 2.8% in the first half of the year, a significantly smaller increase than recorded over previous years. Doing best these days are firms tilted heavily towards the majority Democrats or those with a strong bipartisan staff. The biggest growth rate was seen by the Podesta Group, a Democratic firm, pulling in 47.4% more than the 2007 first half.
The presidential election year and the slow economy have a lot to do with the K Street slowdown. (Of course, by slowdown, I mean smaller increases in profits; not exactly a slowdown, except in terms of the previous exponential growth rates posted over recent years.) Top ten earners were:
Patton Boggs – $20.5 million (+5.7%)
Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld – $17.8 million (+17.1%)
Van Scoyoc Associates – $14.5 million (+16%)
Cassidy & Associates – $12.1 million (-1.6%)
Dutko Worldwide – $10.4 million (-4.1%)
Hogan & Hartson – $10.2 million (+8.5%)
BGR Holdings – $10.2 million (-11.4%)
Ogilvy Government Relations – $9 million (-27.2%)
Williams & Jensen – $8.6 million (+6.0%)
K&L Gates – $8.0 million (+23.5%)
Both Roll Call and The Hill filed reports on this.
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Oil Company Lobbying:
So you want your gas prices to go down? You’re going to need a lot of money to counter the oil companies lobbying heft. Political Money Line shows us how much the oil companies spent in lobbying expenses last year:
- ChevronTexaco $8,550,000
- ExxonMobil $7,140,000
- ConocoPhillips $5,098,084
- Marathon $4,290,000
- BP $2,880,000
- Occidental $2,042,177
- Shell $1,478,831
- Ashland $904,000
- Sunoco $540,000
- Anadarko $250,000
The final total for the entire industry reaches $33,173,092.
