Roll Call reports on Rep. Ortiz’s trips to China and earmarking activities in this article. Rep. Solomon Ortiz (D-Texas) has accepted tens of thousands of dollars’ worth of trips to China from a development corporation in his hometown that he aided by securing earmarks and other federal assistance worth millions of dollars.
Category: House
The Congressional Black Caucu$ money machine
The Times reports on the Congressional Black Caucus and its fundraising activities here. At the galas, lobbyists and executives who give to caucus charities get to mingle with lawmakers. They also get seats on committees the caucus has set up to help members of Congress decide what positions to take on the issues of the […]
Lobbying disclosure from the government side?
The Electronic Frontier Foundation’s FOIA efforts to receive records detailing the telecoms’ campaign for legal immunity (under the FISA Amendments Act of 2008) implicates government-side disclosure of lobbying. The EFF’s release is here and it contains all of the relevant links, including a Feb. 9, 2010 9th Circuit opinion. This case concerns the discussions between […]