STOCK ACT SET FOR VOTE. Roll Call. “The Senate is set to vote on taking up legislation Monday that would explicitly ban federal lawmakers and their staff from trading on insider information.”
ROMNEY TO REVISE. Story here. “Mitt Romney could face new questions about his overseas investments after a campaign official acknowledged to NBC News that his campaign is revising his federal ethics forms to report more than a half dozen offshore holdings, including income from a multi-million dollar Swiss bank account that was not disclosed last year.”
LOBBYING NUMBERS IN. The Post. “Lobbying activity plunged in 2011 for the first time in a decade, most likely driven lower by the struggling economy and legislative gridlock on Capitol Hill, according to new estimates released Thursday.” The Hill has this report.
FORMER WALKER AIDES CHARGED. Story here. “Two former aides to Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker were charged Thursday with allegedly doing political fundraising while working on taxpayer time in the Milwaukee County Executive’s office when he ran it.”
MOVING PAST SOLYNDRA? Story here. “President Barack Obama isn’t letting Solyndra scare him away from pushing a green energy agenda.”
CNN PROFILES NANCY WATKINS. The video report is here. When I was at Patton Boggs I had the pleasure of working with her and she’s a total pro.
LOBBYIST STATUS. The Times has this editorial. “Under the federal lobbying law, Newt Gingrich can legitimately claim that he is not a lobbyist. That alone demonstrates how much the law needs to be changed.”
FL SPENDING. The Post. “Republican presidential candidate Newt Gingrich is getting a boost from a pair of wealthy benefactors, but he’s still likely to get drastically outspent on television ads in Florida.”
GINGRICH AND PAST ETHICS BATTLES. The Times. “Mr. Gingrich lodged a complaint against Mr. Wright, which cost the Democratic speaker his job. Democrats, in turn, bombarded Mr. Gingrich with accusations of ethical impropriety, which led to a $300,000 fine and a reprimand for bringing discredit to the House.”
CAMPAIGN FINANCE AND PERDUE. Story here. “While the State Board of Elections fined The Bev Perdue Committee $30,000 for failing to report numerous flights, Perdue has not been charged or indicted for anything related to the issue. And Wake County District Attorney Colon Willoughby Jr. has said Perdue won’t face any charges.”
UK LOBBYIST REGISTRY NEWS. Story here. “The British government has opened a consultation to introduce the first statutory register of lobbyists in Westminster, drawing on the experience of a similar transparency register in Brussels, which went online last year.”
GRECO REPORT. The Post. “A top European anti-corruption body wants the U.S. to increase transparency of political funding through outside groups that donate millions to support candidates, warning that they could be used to skirt long-established disclosure rules.”
HAVE A GREAT WEEKEND.