Posts Tagged ‘Ethics’

February24

“Transparent” White House holding off-the-record lobbyist meetings

By: Dorry Samuels

Flickr photo by Matthew and Tracie

So the Obama administration is supposed to be all about transparency, particularly when it comes to lobbyists, right? Now it looks like even the do-gooders have made some missteps.

Politico’s Chris Frates broke the story this morning that the White House is continuing to meet with lobbyists, just not always inside the famous Pennsylvania Avenue mansion. Instead, they’re going up the street to townhouses off White House property — out of the public eye and off the public record.

The White House alleges that the Jackson Place additional meeting space is used when the White House is filled or when there’s no time to clear participants through the security screening. But some of the lobbyists involved think otherwise.

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Posted in: Ethics, Midmorning Refill, Open Government0 comments

February3

The Midmorning Refill: Can the Senate ethics committee succeed in policing its own, or should an outside agency cover investigations?

By: Dorry Samuels

If you read one thing today…

Flickr photo by cm.durham

While it’s crucial to have someone examining lawmakers’ ethics, why is it that we let members of Congress police their own?

The Senate ethics committee, wanting an objective look at Sen. John Ensign, appointed a special counsel to lead the investigation. So, why do we have an ethics committee to begin with, Susan Crabtree writes in today’s TalkingPointsMemo.

So who should investigate these cases?

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Posted in: Congress, Ethics, Midmorning Refill1 comments

January11

The Midmorning Refill: A silver lining in Issa’s business-regulatory inquiries

By: Dorry Samuels

Today’s Flickr photo:

Flickr photo by slackorama

If you read one thing today…

So, we’re still pretty upset that Rep. Darrell Issa, the chairman of the House oversight committee, asked Big Businesses which regulations they’d like to see overturned. (Read our statement.) But at least there’s a silver lining.

With a little urging from our friends over at Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW), Issa discloses whom exactly got those letters and that he’ll make public the responses he gets.

Examples of companies receiving the letters include:

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Posted in: Congress, Consumer Protection, Environment, Ethics, Midmorning Refill, Open Government0 comments

January7

The Midmorning Refill: Ironies abound with GOP lawmakers, violating Constitution, ethics rules already

By: Dorry Samuels

Today’s Flickr photo:

Flickr photo by wallyg

If you read one thing today…

It’s like some lawmakers are just trying to make our jobs easier and are giving us plenty to blog about. The ironies run aplenty already, and HuffPo’s Ryan Grim keeps a pretty good tally of them. Let’s explore, shall we?

  • Two GOP lawmakers missed their swearing in because they were attending a fundraiser [definitely not a fundraiser] in the Capitol Visitor’s Center — but don’t worry, they at least raised their hands at the TV showing the swearing in. (The Constitution doesn’t address swearing in from afar, and the House ethics rules forbid fundraising at the Capitol.)
  • Those two lawmakers — Reps. Pete Sessions and Mike Fitzpatrick — still opted to cast votes along with their House peers, even though they hadn’t been formally sworn in (a violation of the Constitution).
  • The Constitution keeps coming up. You’d think maybe they hadn’t read it, but lawmakers — including Fitzpatrick — read it from the podium the same week. Curious.

What do you have to say about all of this? Discuss.

UPDATES:

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Posted in: Congress, Ethics, Midmorning Refill, Open Government0 comments

January6

The Midmorning Update: Short-lived promises of transparency with new Congress

By: Dorry Samuels

Today’s Flickr photo:

Flickr photo by derekskey

If you read one thing today…

Well, that didn’t take long. The new Republican-controlled House is already backpedaling on the rules it just established, rules promising more transparency and reform. Talk about short-lived, eh?

The GOP is quite anxious to repeal the health care law and apparently things like committee processes and open amendments are too inconvenient to stand with their new pledges.

Politico’s Jake Sherman has the details:

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Posted in: Congress, Ethics, Health, Midmorning Refill, Open Government0 comments

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