lobbying

Stories 61 - 80 | << Prev   Next >>

Not-So-Green Seattle Voters Reject Grocery Bag Tax

(Newser) - The $1.4 million the plastics industry spent to defeat a grocery bag tax initiative paid off yesterday when Seattle voters defied their green reputation to reject the tax, the Seattle Post-Intelligencer reports. The measure would have charged shoppers 20 cents per plastic or paper bag as an incentive to...

Ex-Lawmakers Lobby Hard for Health Industry

Medical interests shelling out $1.4M a day to limit reform

(Newser) - The health care industry is making a record-breaking lobbying push to shape and soften health care reform, the Washington Post reports, laying out $1.4 million a day on an army of some 350 former Capitol Hill staffers and members of Congress. Three of every four health care lobbying firms...

Democrats Dodge Obama's Lobbyist Ban
Democrats Dodge Obama's Lobbyist Ban
Jun 18, 2009 10:28 AM CDT

Democrats Dodge Obama's Lobbyist Ban

Money unwelcome at dinner with prez, OK at meeting tomorrow

(Newser) - Congressional Democrats have found a way around President Obama’s refusal to appear at events where lobbyists can make campaign contributions, Politico reports. Lobbyists won’t be able to donate at tonight’s fundraiser with Obama, but they’ll be more than welcome to do so tomorrow morning, at a...

Spending on Health Care Lobbying Up 41%

Drug, insurance companies oppose public insurance

(Newser) - As the health care debate heats up in Washington, insurance and drug companies are keeping their lobbyists busy. So far this year, those industries have increased their lobbyist spending by 41% as they fight a proposed public insurance plan, USA Today reports. That's $35 million in the first quarter for...

Nonprofit Lobbyists Want Obama to Let Them In

White House ban bars experts, policy suffers

(Newser) - Nonprofit groups have launched a new campaign on behalf of their own lobbyists, the New York Times reports. Barack Obama’s current anti-lobbying rules don’t make any distinction between corporate influence peddlers and public interest advocates; all are barred from administration jobs. Case in point: Tom Malinowski, the Human...

Lawyers Rush In to Grab Work From Lobbyists

Having fewer restrictions on lawyers' activities attracts clients

(Newser) - The Obama White House may have toughened rules on lobbyists, but the bonanza of new spending and regulation ushered in by the new administration has created a gold rush of lobbying opportunities, nonetheless, and law firms are horning in on the action, Politico reports. Staffing up with experts who provide...

GM Spends $2.8M on Lobbying
 GM Spends $2.8M on Lobbying 
Apr 21, 2009 9:55 AM CDT

GM Spends $2.8M on Lobbying

(Newser) - General Motors spent $2.8 million on lobbying in this year’s first quarter, even as $13.4 billion in federal loans kept it on life support, the AP reports. That’s down from $3.3 million it spent in 2008’s fourth quarter, but still up from Q3, according...

Lobbying Rules Also Ensnare Do-Gooders

(Newser) - The Obama administration’s strict new rules on lobbying—aimed at stopping stereotypical DC weasels from cashing in—are also tripping up do-gooders, the Washington Post reports. Activists who work for non-profits and charities, many of whom registered as lobbyists for reasons of transparency and have a yen to work...

Geithner Aide Lobbied for CEO Bonuses

(Newser) - The Treasury's new chief of staff once fought for the very executive bonuses Washington is trying to curb. When working for Goldman Sachs, Mark Patterson lobbied against a 2007 bill supported by Barack Obama to help limit Wall Street payouts. The initiative died in Senate committee. "Whatever Patterson had...

AIG's Money Lined Pockets in Washington

Dodd, Bush, Obama campaigns benefited from insurer's largesse

(Newser) - Chris Dodd has been a major AIG critic of late, but the Senate Banking chairman also has the uncomfortable distinction of being the politician to benefit the most from the insurer’s generosity, the Wall Street Journal reports. AIG employees have donated $280,000 to Dodd over the years, including...

Lobbyists Open War Chests to Battle Obama

(Newser) - In his address to Congress, President Obama made it clear certain industries are in his crosshairs, from agribusiness to defense to health care. But those industries aren’t taking it lying down, the Wall Street Journal reports. They’re spending big on lobbyists, hoping to derail—or at least reshape—...

Geithner Cracks Down on Bailout Lobbyists

(Newser) - Timothy Geithner announced new rules cracking down on lobbyist influence over government bailout funds today, the Wall Street Journal reports. “American taxpayers deserve to know that their money is spent in the most effective way to stabilize the financial system,” the newly-minted Treasury secretary said. Contact with lobbyists...

Bailout Bucks Go to Lobbyists
 Bailout Bucks Go to Lobbyists 
Jan 24, 2009 6:59 AM CST

Bailout Bucks Go to Lobbyists

Bailed-out firms' spending on lobbying threatens to spark government backlash

(Newser) - A surprising number of firms that reaped billions in bailout funds from the government have been spending big to lobby the government for more, the New York Times reports. Citigroup, General Motors, and at least seven others have paid lobbyists millions since October. Some recipients actually increased the amount they...

Mac Is Back, Pushing Reforms

GOP stalwart returns to Senate, eye on reining in lobbying and earmarks

(Newser) - Sen. John McCain, forgotten but not gone after his failed bid for the presidency, was back in form this week as he pushed bipartisan reform of earmarks and lobbying, Congressional Quarterly reports. Though the Arizona Republican’s eyes were watery and he had some trouble reading at the press conference,...

Burris Ties to Blago Include Donations, Job for Wife

Senate aspirant no stranger to pay-to-play politics

(Newser) - Senate Democrats are lauding Roland Burris as a faithful public servant who happens to owe his appointment to a crooked governor, but the Illinois politician has some pretty close—perhaps suspect—ties to Blagojevich, the Chicago Tribune reports. Burris and affiliates in his lobbying firm contributed $20,000 to Blagojevich...

Caroline Has Been Stingy With NY Dems
Caroline Has Been Stingy With NY Dems
Dec 26, 2008 11:33 AM CST

Caroline Has Been Stingy With NY Dems

Lack of donations may hurt efforts to gain Clinton's Senate seat

(Newser) - Caroline Kennedy has not donated much money to New York Democrats, and it could dent her appeal to Gov. David Paterson as he decides on his appointment to fill Hillary Clinton’s Senate seat, the New York Daily News reports. Although Kennedy has given around $30,000 to federal candidates,...

Spouses Put Obama's Lobbying Rules to Test

President-elect struggles with ethical promises

(Newser) - The spouses of some of Barack Obama’s top appointees are lobbyists, the New York Times reports, presenting a test to strict ethics policies the Democrat pushed on the campaign trail. Health Secretary-designate Tom Daschle’s wife, Linda, is one of Washington’s top aviation lobbyists, and reported energy-czar pick...

Market Now Runs on Politics, Not Economics
Market Now Runs on Politics, Not Economics
OPINION
Nov 28, 2008 11:15 AM CST

Market Now Runs on Politics, Not Economics

Krauthammer: In bailout era, Democrat fiats are dangerous

(Newser) - Once upon a time, “if you wanted to get rich, you did it the Warren Buffett way,” writes Charles Krauthammer in the Washington Post. “You learned to read balance sheets.” That changed with the Bear Stearns rescue. Today, political maneuvering is what moves the markets, and...

Lobbyists Gobbling Up $700B Bailout
Lobbyists Gobbling Up $700B Bailout
Nov 12, 2008 7:51 AM CST

Lobbyists Gobbling Up $700B Bailout

There's not much left as everyone fights for piece of shrinking pie

(Newser) - That $700 billion allocated in this fall's federal bailout sounded like a lot of money—but after a feeding frenzy led by Washington lobbyists, there's not much cash left over, reports the New York Times. Of the first tranche of $350 billion, only $60 billion remains uncommitted, and everyone from...

Huge Bush Deregulation Push Before Jan. 20

White House will relax rules on environment, consumer protection

(Newser) - George W. Bush is president for 11 more weeks, and the White House is plotting to use that time to modify federal regulations to weaken protections for consumers and the environment. The deregulatory initiatives would be some of the most controversial of the Bush era, reports the Washington Post, lifting...

Stories 61 - 80 | << Prev   Next >>