lobbyists

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Both Parties Look to Cut Corporate Tax

Lobbyists eager for next big legislative push

(Newser) - The Obama administration is planning to propose a new set of cuts in the corporate tax rate, hoping to strike a vein of bipartisan cooperation. “This would send a reassuring signal to the economy, and is something both parties should support in theory,” a senior administration official tells...

Time to Stem Tide of Special Interest Campaign Cash
Time to Stem Tide of Special Interest Campaign Cash
alan simpson
Apr 25, 2011 12:44 PM CDT

Time to Stem Tide of Special Interest Campaign Cash

Special interest groups 'distort elections': Alan Simpson

(Newser) - In 2010, special interest groups and lobbyists in Washington alone gave nearly $300 million to political candidates—"more than the donations of 32 states combined," notes Alan Simpson, writing for Politico . And 2012 is sure to be worse, unless we do something about it—now. Special interest money...

In Budget Deal, Lobbyists Win Surprising Battle

Ron Wyden's voucher plan scrapped—though that won't save money

(Newser) - Soon after Democrats and Republicans settled on a deal to avoid a government shutdown, Ron Wyden got a call from Harry Reid. “You lost free-choice vouchers,” he said. Translation: Somehow in the budget scuffle, those involved agreed out of the blue to kill a plan Wyden had fought...

Obama Aides Take Lobbyist Meetings Across Street

That way, they're not seen in visitor logs

(Newser) - Apparently Barack Obama’s opposition to lobbyist influence isn’t as strident as advertised. Obama’s aides still consult with lobbyists, Politico reports—they just do it across the street from the White House. These chats, held in meeting rooms just off the White House campus, aren’t recorded in...

State Politics: Hotbed of Sleaze, Booze, Scandal

ABC investigation finds no shortage of sleaze at state level

(Newser) - You hear a lot more about the sleaze in Congress and governors' mansions than the sleaze at the state legislator level, but that's not because of a lack of low-down behavior, an ABC News investigation finds. Five grad students sent to cover a national convention of state legislators in Louisville,...

GOP's 'Pledge' Written by Former Oil, Pharma Lobbyist

Boehner aide lobbied for AIG, Exxon, Pfizer, Chamber of Commerce

(Newser) - The new “ Pledge to America ” the GOP intends to unveil today, as a kind of sequel to the "Contract with America" of old, was written by a guy who was, until a few months ago, a lobbyist for insurance giant AIG, along with big oil and pharma...

John Boehner Really, Really Loves Lobbyists

GOP star is proud to back corporate America

(Newser) - Rep. John Boehner , would-be speaker of the House , has an unusually close relationship with lobbyists, finds the New York Times . The "perpetually tanned, sharply tailored, chain-smoking golfer" from Ohio cultivates an inner circle tied to some of America's most powerful companies, particularly tobacco and financial services firms.

Young Blago Juror: I May Become a Lobbyist

'I've seen all the money they make'

(Newser) - Any lessons to be learned from round one of the Blagojevich trial? Probably none better than this, as articulated by a college-age juror: "I might be a lobbyist after this," Erik Sarnello tells the Chicago Sun-Times (a line gleefully picked up by the Awl ). "I've seen...

My That's a Big Cigar You Have, Congressman

Lobbyists may have set up networking group in violation of rules

(Newser) - The Huffington Post is blowing smoke in the eyes of a congressional networking group that the blog contends is backed by lobbyists, possibly in violation of congressional rules. Tough to get your maduro lit when you poke around like that. According to HuffPo: "Lobbyists for major banks, insurers, pharmaceutical...

Republicans Scolded for Partying With Lady Lobbyists

Boehner tells off Hunter, Graves, Terry, others

(Newser) - John Boehner has warned several Republican congressmen to stop flirting, dining, partying, and otherwise hanging out with female lobbyists. Boehner told the reps to “knock it off,” sources tell the New York Post , which dutifully tracked down the perpetrators. It caught Lee Terry, for example, chatting up an...

BP, Transocean Hire Swarm of Lobbyists

...who swear they're just 'trying to give information to people'

(Newser) - The oil gushing into the Gulf has been black gold for one someone: the lobbyist. BP, Transocean, Halliburton, and many, many other small and large industry players affected by the spill have hired a bevy of lobbyists from both sides of the aisle, reports the Washington Post , which offers an...

Texas Lobbyists Get Gun Permits to Avoid Lines

They can skip the metal detectors at the state capitol

(Newser) - Probably one or two Texas jokes applies to this one: Most of the state's lobbyists are signing up for permits to carry concealed weapons, reports the Houston Chronicle . They're not angry or afraid—they're just tired of waiting in long lines at newly installed metal detectors for visitors to the...

Hedge Funds Get 'Sweet Deal' in Finance Bill

Thanks to an army of lobbyists, they've dodged reforms

(Newser) - While Wall Street banks are being hauled before Congress for public reprimand, hedge funds and private equity firms have floated blissfully above the fray, thanks to an army of well-connected lobbyists. More than half of the 83 new lobbyists who signed up with the industry's two main trade groups last...

Democrats Defy Wall Street, GOP on Bank Reform

Banks trying mightily to kill restrictions on derivatives

(Newser) - Democrats defied Wall Street lobbyists’ push to kill new reforms on derivative trading yesterday, and got an earful from Republicans for their troubles. Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan, and Morgan Stanley have been leaning heavily on Blanche Lincoln’s Agriculture Committee to scrap a plan to force derivatives—which, incidentally, played a...

Greenpeace Finds 'Kingpin of Climate Denial'

Little-known US oil company has spent $67M to foster doubt

(Newser) - A little-known private US oil company called Koch Industries has become the driving force behind the climate change denial industry, according to an investigative report from Greenpeace (full pdf here ). Koch funneled $25 million into groups opposed to climate change from 2005 to 2008—three times as much as...

Toyota Armed With Lobbyists for DC Showdown
Toyota Armed With Lobbyists for DC Showdown
donations won't hurt either
Feb 22, 2010 4:39 AM CST

Toyota Armed With Lobbyists for DC Showdown

40% of panel members have taken money from company

(Newser) - Toyota won't be alone as it testifies before Congress: The automaker brings with it an army of lobbyists and the potential goodwill generated by years of targeted political giving. The 32 lobbyists already working on the company's behalf will be joined by experts from two recently hired lobbying firms. They'll...

Tobacco, Oil, Bank Lobbyists Crowd Dem Senators' Retreat

Miami guest list doesn't quite jibe with anti-'fat cat' rhetoric

(Newser) - Lobbyists for some of the industries most often blasted by Democrats—oil, big tobacco, banks—made up a good chunk of the guest list at a Miami retreat featuring a dozen Senate Democrats. A $30,000 contribution to the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee is typical, reports Politico , which scored a...

Wall Street May Fight Tax All the Way to Supreme Court

Lobbyists argue that it's unconstitutional to target big banks

(Newser) - Wall Street’s main lobbying firm has hired a big-time Supreme Court litigator to look into bringing a federal case against the Obama administration’s proposed big-bank tax, arguing that it is unconstitutional. The group sent an email to legal departments across Wall Street saying that the tax could be...

Lobbyists See Advisory Roles Clipped by New Obama Rule

Feds aim to cut special-interest access; K Streeters demur

(Newser) - An Obama administration rule taking effect over the next few months will take potentially thousands of those oh-so-evil Washington lobbyists off panels advising federal officials on everything from consumer protection to environmental policy. The panels’ web is so tangled, the Post reports, that the feds aren’t even sure how...

Soda Tax Threat a Boon for Food Lobbyists

Industry pours millions into fight against it

(Newser) - Capitol Hill’s flirtation with a national excise tax on sugary drinks has been good for someone: food lobbyists. Soda makers, supermarkets, and fast-food restaurants have spent more than $24 million fighting the tax, the Huffington Post reports. “We are reacting to the situation we find ourselves in,"...

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