Lobbying

To Turn the Tide Against the NRA, Leadership Needed at the Top

You know you are not going to be seeing the brightest bulbs on TV defending America's loose gun laws the weekend after the mass slaughter of children. Even the NRA had gone dark, taking down its Facebook and Twitter accounts and refusing to respond to reporters.

Web of Berman Front Groups Subject of IRS Complaint

Five registered non-profits run by super-lobbyist Rick Berman's for-profit PR firm, Berman & Co., are the target of an Internal Revenue Service (IRS) complaint filed this month by the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS).

After a Controversial Year, ALEC Convenes in Washington with Damage Control at Top of Agenda

At the end of a tumultuous year that has seen the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) come under unprecedented scrutiny for its role in advancing a slate of right-wing legislation, the corporate-friendly organization of state lawmakers and special interest lobbyists convenes this week in Washington, DC to try and salvage its viability.

Taxpayer-Enriched Companies Back Jeb Bush's Foundation for Excellence in Education, its Buddy ALEC, and Their "Reforms"

This week in Washington, DC, Jeb Bush's "Foundation for Excellence in Education" (FEE) is meeting just five blocks away from the post-election conference of the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC), the controversial corporate bill mill working on profitizing public education among other legislative changes, but the ties between the two groups are even closer.

Greenpeace Activist Confronts Coal Lobbyist at Energy Event

- by Connor Gibson of Greenpeace

At a well-attended energy forum hosted by Politico, I shed some light on the role of coal lobbyist Jeffrey Holmstead in blocking pollution reductions for his coal utility and mining clients after he said we can’t “regulate our way to clean energy.” Here’s the video:

Secret, Big Funding of "Small Business" Group Exposed at New Website -- NFIBexposed.org

PRESS RELEASE: September 26, 2012
CONTACT: Harriet Rowan harriet_rowan@prwatch.org

Launch of ALEC Exposed-style website highlights big business funding of "small" biz group, the National Federation of Independent Business, and its partisan agenda.

Fighting GMO Labeling in California is Food Lobby’s “Highest Priority”

- by PRWatch guest contributor Michele Simon

In case you had any doubt that California's Prop 37 -- which would require labeling of food containing genetically-modified organisms (GMOs) -- is a significant threat to industry, a top food lobby has now made it perfectly clear.

Diageo Continues Flying ALEC Flag under Darkening Skies

When it's not sailing along on government largesse -- like the $2.7 billion granted by U.S. Virgin Islands to help sell rum -- the global corporation that owns Captain Morgan flies a very different flag. It is a corporate leader of the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC), flying the flag of "limited government."

Quid pro Status Quo: ALEC & State-Sanctioned Corruption in Ohio

Part 1: Legislative Service with a Smile

"Quid pro quo: something given or received for something else"

-- Merriam-Webster Dictionary

At about ten o'clock on the morning of March 23, 2011, Faith Williams walked into the office of Ohio House Majority Whip John Adams (R-District 78). Williams, a lobbyist with firm, Bricker & Eckler, LLP, (Bricker) had an appointment to speak with Adams about an "economic development study" created by some of her clients in the life insurance industry.

Wisconsin GOP Attempts to Ram Through Special Interest Mining Bill

Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker and Senate Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald are pushing for radical changes in Wisconsin's current mining law to benefit a single out-of-state company.

Gogebic Taconite, based out of Florida, has proposed a massive twenty-one mile long iron-ore strip mine in some of the most beautiful and pristine land in the northern part of the state. Walker and the GOP are promoting the mining bill as the most important "jobs bill" of the session. Since Governor Walker's austerity budget kicked in on July 1, Wisconsin has lost jobs for six straight months, the worst record in the country.

The Assembly proposal (PDF) would make numerous changes to current law, including regarding how mines can affect waterways, wetlands and groundwater. The new bill drastically limits the time available to the Department of Natural Resources (DNR) for processing permit requests to 360 days. Similar permit requests in Minnesota took between two and four years. The new bill also places a two million dollar cap on the amount a company must reimburse the DNR for costs associated with processing a request. Any expense beyond the two million dollar cap would come from the DNR's budget. Similar mining permits elsewhere have cost between three and four million dollars, and the DNR already faces severe cuts.

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