Support Urged for Campaign Finance Disclosure Bill Bill Clark/Roll Call File Photo Ads by the League of Women Voters target Tennessee Sens. Lamar Alexander (left) and Bob Corker (right) and Maine Sens. Susan Collins and Olympia Snowe because they are key actors on this important issue, said the groups president, Elisabeth MacNamara, in a statement. Amid speculation that Senate Democrats will bring up a campaign finance disclosure bill as early as June, the League of Women Voters has launched a $90,000 radio ad campaign calling on four GOP Senators to “tell us you support full disclosure.” The ads target Tennessee Sens. Lamar Alexander and Bob Corker and Maine Sens. Susan Collins and Olympia Snowe because they are “key actors on this important issue,” said the ... Continue reading →
Bank Lobbyists Go Into Defensive Crouch After JPMorgan Losses The multibillion-dollar trading losses at JPMorgan Chase & Co. have thrust Wall Street banks into a defensive crouch on K Street, prompting financial services lobbyists to clam up, regroup and, in some cases, suspend lobbying altogether. Not a Subscriber? Sign In Continue reading →
K Street Files: Facebook Friends U.S. Chamber, NFIB In an effort to encourage small businesses to get on Facebook, the newly public social network is giving away up to $10 million in free advertising. Not a Subscriber? Sign In Continue reading →
Lawsuits Challenging Contraception Rule Get Little Play Bill Clark/CQ Roll Call File Photo Senate Republican Conference Vice Chairman Roy Blunt said he is considering intervening in a legal challenge to a proposed federal contraception rule brought by Catholic organizations. Republican leaders might be trying to avoid getting re-entangled in the culture wars, but Senate Republican Conference Vice Chairman Roy Blunt on Tuesday said he is considering intervening in a legal challenge to a proposed federal contraception rule brought by Catholic organizations. The Missouri Republican — who is presumptive GOP presidential nominee Mitt Romney’s liaison to Congress — said he is looking into joining the challenge to the rule, which requires religiously affiliated hospitals and other institutions, excluding churches, to provide employee health insurance that includes ... Continue reading →
Outside Money Flows to California Scott J. Ferrell/CQ Roll Call File Photo Rep. Howard Berman is getting a boost from outside spending. Call it a California gold rush, with a twist. Rather than excavate wealth from the Golden State, third-party groups are dousing California with dollars ahead of its June 5 primaries. Some $2.4 million in independent expenditures has been spent on Golden State House primaries so far this cycle, according to Federal Election Commission records. The overall outside spending total is actually higher than that, as issue advocacy advertising media buys are not reported to the FEC. Nonpartisan redistricting, retirements and a modified primary format introduced newfound competition across the state’s Congressional landscape, from Eureka to San Diego. It’s turned a state relegated in ... Continue reading →
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Super PACs Shift Focus to Congressional Races Super PACs have jumped feet first into congressional races in recent weeks, the latest public disclosures show, with the conservative groups Club for Growth Action and FreedomWorks for America leading the way. The most recent batch of campaign finance reports, filed with the Federal Election Commission on May 20, suggest that unrestricted super PACs that played a dominant role in the Republican presidential primary are shifting their focus to House and Senate contests. Recent disclosures also illustrate an ongoing cash advantage for GOP-friendly super PACs, particularly conservative ones. Club for Growth Action, which favors small government, spent $2.2 million on House and Senate races in April, according to the latest FEC reports. The group raised just less than ... Continue reading →
Rules of the Game: Advocacy Groups Face New Ad Rules Federal Appeals Court Decision Changes Plans For Many Nonprofits Douglas Graham/CQ Roll Call Rep. Chris Van Hollens lawsuit against the Federal Election Commission prompted a court to order the FEC to write new disclosure rules for campaign ads by nonprofits. With the stroke of a pen, a federal appeals court ruling has drastically altered the calculus for nonprofits and trade groups poised to spend millions of dollars in this election, from well-funded partisan players to grass-roots groups on the left and right. The ruling by a three-judge appeals court panel last week has the odd effect of imposing stricter disclosure rules on ads that simply picture or name a candidate at election time than on ... Continue reading →
Coburn Calls on Parties to Reject Public Funding for Conventions Opening a new front in the GOP’s ongoing bid to end public campaign financing, Sen. Tom Coburn (R-Okla.) has called on the chairs of the Democratic and Republican National Committees to reject public funding for their upcoming party conventions.“Can we agree once and for all the party is over when it comes to travel and meetings paid for by the taxpayers?” Coburn wrote today in a letter to RNC Chairman Reince Priebus and to Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-Fla.), who chairs the DNC.Coburn said recent bipartisan calls to end wasteful government junkets such as the $830,000 Las Vegas conference that has made the General Services Administration a target of Congressional scrutiny, should also apply to ... Continue reading →
