U.S. Congress

Sunlight Sparkles

by Sheldon Rampton — April 6, 2007 - 10:34am

PBS journalist Mark Glaser has written a laudatory article featuring the Sunlight Foundation, which cosponsors our own Congresspedia project on SourceWatch, along with numerous other citizen journalism projects such as their

Main Source:

PBS MediaShift, April 4, 2007

Congress Inches Towards Joining the Information Age

by Conor Kenny — April 5, 2007 - 3:44pm

Topics: U.S. Congress, Democracy

Guest Blogger: Paul Blumenthal of the Sunlight Foundation

For the past seven years Sen. Russ Feingold (D-Wis.) introduced a bill requiring Senators to file their reports of campaign contributions in an electronic format. Currently Senators file these reports on paper with the Secretary of the Senate who then transmits the reports to the Federal Election Commission where the reports are retyped back into computers. The process costs about $250,000 a year and means that a lot of campaign contributions to Senators are not available for public review prior to a November election. This year, Sen. Feingold’s bill, S. 223, finally made it out of committee.

Congresspedia's "Congress in the News" updates, Mar. 1-21, 2007

by Conor Kenny — April 5, 2007 - 2:57pm

Topics: Congresspedia News Updates, U.S. Congress, Democracy, U.S. Government

The Senate Appropriations Committee is expected to pass a $122 billion appropriations bill that contains provisions calling for a March 31, 2008 withdraw of most U.S. combat operations in Iraq. (Washington Post story)
Reps.

The latest in the U.S. attorney scandal: Some testify, some plead the fifth and others cut a deal "just to talk."

by Conor Kenny — April 3, 2007 - 5:26pm

Topics: U.S. Congress, Democracy, U.S. Government

Guest blogger: Congresspedia intern Joshua Lanzet

Along with the Iraq War, the broadening investigation into the Bush administration U.S. attorney firings controversy continues to dominate the headlines coming out of Congress. Congresspedia's citizen and staff editors are following the scandal closely, documenting the congressional investigations as well as the details of the actual firings as they emerge. Here are the latest developments, but make sure to see the full article for complete details:

TheWeekInCongress (March 26-30, 2007)

by Conor Kenny — March 30, 2007 - 4:08pm

Topics: Citizen Journalism, U.S. Congress, U.S. Government

Capitol Hill dominated the news this past week, as Congress continued to move towards sending a bill to President Bush’s desk calling for an end to the controversial Iraq War. For a thorough look at congressional action on this issue and several others debated and considered since Monday, we again turn to Robert McElroy’s TheWeekInCongress.

How to End the War in Iraq? MoveOn Answers Its Critics

by John Stauber — March 30, 2007 - 8:57am

Alternet's Don Hazen interviews the founders of MoveOn. He writes, "For the first time ... members of Congress -- at least the new Democratic majority, along with a handful of Republicans -- finally caught up with the population" and "confronted Bush over the financing of the war and a real timeline for ending it. ... The ability to win this first victory was difficult and complex. It was achieved in part with the energetic and savvy support of millions of progressives and particularly MoveOn.org ...

Main Source:

Alternet, March 30, 2007

Senate Upholds Call for Iraq Withdrawal in Spending Bill

by Conor Kenny — March 28, 2007 - 5:12pm

Topics: Iraq, U.S. Congress, U.S. Government

A bill calling for the 2008 withdrawal of U.S. combat troops from Iraq is now one step closer to reaching President Bush’s desk.

On Tuesday, the Senate rejected a Republican-backed amendment to strip a timeline for withdrawal from a $122 billion supplemental spending bill, 48-50. Democrats were joined in opposing the amendment by two Republicans, Sens. Chuck Hagel (Neb.) and Gordon Smith (Ore.). One Democrat, Sen. Mark Pryor (Ark.), sided with the remaining Republicans and independent Sen. Joe Lieberman (Conn.) in supporting the amendment. Hagel and Sen. Ben Nelson (D-Neb.), both of whom supported keeping the withdrawal timeline in the spending bill, had just two weeks ago opposed a separate Senate resolution calling for an identical timetable.

A Talent for PR

by Judith Siers-Poisson — March 27, 2007 - 2:13pm

It didn't take Former Republican Senator Jim Talent of Missouri long to take a spin through the revolving door between government and the private sector. Talent just lost the Senate seat that he had held since 2003 in November, but the public relations firm Fleishman-Hillard has already hired him as co-chairman of its Government Relations subsidiary.

Main Source:

Bulldog Reporter's Daily 'Dog, March 27, 2007

Shaping the Message, Distorting the Science

by Sheldon Rampton — March 27, 2007 - 2:13pm

Topics: Global Warming, U.S. Congress, Lobbying, Marketing, Public Relations, Science, Tobacco

I've been asked to deliver testimony this Wednesday before the Committee on Science and Technology of the U.S. House of Representatives, which is holding a hearing titled "Shaping the Message, Distorting the Science: Media Strategies to Influence Science Policy."

UPDATE: Be a Citizen Journalist - Help Find the Contact Information for Freshman Members of Congress

by Conor Kenny — March 27, 2007 - 1:07pm

UPDATE: PRWatch and WeeklySpin readers have posted the contact information for all the new members from Texas, Virginia and New Hampshire. Help us finish the rest!

One of the key pieces of information on Congresspedia's member of Congress articles is the contact information for the member's district and Washington offices. This helps constituents know exactly where they can go to voice their opinions, deliver petitions or send letters.

Main Source:

Congresspedia