The Center for Public Integrity

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  1. November 04, 2009

    The Food Lobby’s War on a Soda Tax

    Washington lobbyists have been enjoying a multi-million-dollar sugar rush from the food industry. Soft drink makers, supermarket companies, agriculture and the fast-food business have poured millions into campaigning against what they fear could be a burgeoning national movement to raise money for health care reform by taxing sweetened beverages. Read more

  2. October 07, 2009

    A ‘Murtha Method’ Encore

    A ‘Murtha Method’ Encore A review of the 2010 defense appropriations process reveals that most members of a key House of Representatives panel continue to engage in controversial relationships involving ex-staffers-turned-lobbyists, contractors, campaign cash, and earmarks — the sorts of relationships that have led to investigations swirling around several panel members, including its chairman, Pennsylvania Democrat John P. Murtha. Read more

  3. September 08, 2009

    The Murtha Method

    The Murtha Method For months, a cloud has swirled around Congressman John Murtha (D-Pa.), chairman of the powerful House Appropriations Defense Subcommittee, and the relationship that Murtha and other subcommittee members had with the PMA Group, a lobbying firm filled with former subcommittee aides. Read more

  4. August 25, 2009

    You Broke It, You Fix It?

    You Broke It, You Fix It? Firms that fed off the subprime lending frenzy that devastated the banking system are lining up to collect more than $21 billion in taxpayer funds meant to help bail out borrowers now in trouble on their loans. Read more

  5. August 20, 2009

    Major Developer Faces Foreclosure or Bankruptcy

    Major Developer Faces Foreclosure or Bankruptcy The largest private landowner in Loudoun County, Virginia, Greenvest LC — the focus of a series of bruising development battles — has defaulted on a $130 million loan, putting the majority of its real estate holdings into a foreclosure auction scheduled for Tuesday at the county courthouse. Read more

  6. August 10, 2009

    Tally of Interests on Climate Bill Tops a Thousand

    Tally of Interests on Climate Bill Tops a Thousand More than 460 new businesses and interest groups jumped into lobbying Congress on global warming in the weeks before the House neared its historic vote on climate change legislation, a Center for Public Integrity analysis of just-disclosed lobbying records shows. Read more

  7. August 05, 2009

    Government Layoffs Spark Debate Over Zoning, Development

    Government Layoffs Spark Debate Over Zoning, Development On the surface, the consolidation of planning departments in Worcester County, Maryland, seems a reasonable response to a recession-fueled drop in home sales and new construction. But the timing of the cuts, coming amid a major rewrite of development policies for one of the East Coast’s premier beach-front communities, is drawing suspicion from environmentalists and scrutiny from both the state planning department and the editorial page of the Baltimore Sun. Read more

  8. July 24, 2009

    Builders Fight Proposed Home Sprinkler Requirement

    Builders Fight Proposed Home Sprinkler Requirement Firefighters and sprinkler manufacturers are locked in a fierce national battle against home builders over a proposed requirement for sprinklers in all new homes and townhouses, with a crucial vote scheduled in Virginia early next week. Read more

  9. July 22, 2009

    Blue Dogs Fill Their Bowls with Cash

    Blue Dogs Fill Their Bowls with Cash Whether the subject is health care reform, climate change, or pay-as-you-go budgeting rules, almost everyone, it seems, suddenly wants to talk with the Blue Dogs. President Obama’s White House meeting with members of the fiscally conservative Democratic coalition earlier this week is but the latest indication that the Blue Dogs — 52 members strong — have deftly turned themselves into a key voting bloc at the nexus of power. With them, the Democrats do not need a single Republican to back their legislation; without them, the Democratic agenda would be in serious peril. And as their clout has expanded, fundraising has grown accordingly, not just from traditionally Democratic contributors, but from unexpected quarters as well. Read more

  10. July 20, 2009

    Rebuked Appraisers Reborn as Real Estate Agents

    Rebuked Appraisers Reborn as Real Estate Agents In 2007, a mortgage lender flagged the work of veteran Florida home appraiser Jerome Woolf for review, a process that often leads to an appraiser losing a lender’s business — a potentially disastrous financial hit for a small businessman like Woolf. Read more

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The Center for Public Integrity is dedicated to producing original, responsible investigative journalism on issues of public concern in the USA and around the world.

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International Consortium of Investigative Journalists

The Center’s International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ) is a collaboration of some of the world’s leading investigative reporters. ICIJ extends globally the Center’s style of watchdog journalism, working with 100 reporters in 50 countries to produce long-term, transnational projects.

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