Like a lot of industry groups, the farm lobby says it would prefer that Congress tackle climate change rather than leaving the job to the bureaucrats at the Environmental Protection Agency. But now, the prospect of EPA greenhouse gas regulation looms large — mostly because agriculture and so many other interests haven’t liked any of the climate bills so far on Capitol Hill. Read more
A series of recent Center for Public Integrity stories provide an illuminating reality check on some of the points made by President Barack Obama last night in his first State of the Union address. Read more
The AFL-CIO, cheered last week’s U.S. Supreme Court ruling in Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission — a landmark decision seemingly allowing unlimited campaign advertising by any corporation, trade association, or labor union. But the nation’s largest labor umbrella organization could find itself the biggest loser in the new political world order it helped create. Read more
While political observers have dissected much of yesterday’s 5-4 Supreme Court ruling in the Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission, one potentially huge (and probably unintended) consequence has gotten little notice: the impact the decision could have on foreign government spending on federal campaigns. Read more
The U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling today opens a floodgate — making the buying of elections even easier. In the Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission decision, a Court majority granted corporations (and, likely, labor unions) the right to use their treasuries to engage in political advertising in any amount and at any time in the electoral process. The decision represents a stunning reversal of decades of anti-corruption jurisprudence. It leaves serious questions about whether Congress has any real authority to prevent the influence-buying that has plagued our nation’s campaigns and elections. Get ready for U.S. Senate candidates brought to you directly by Coca-Cola or Bank of America. Read more
As the federal government prepares to spend up to $27 billion in stimulus funds to promote electronic medical records, a health technology industry survey suggests that a number of hospitals, health clinics, and insurance firms are violating federal security rules on patient data and putting sensitive health information at risk. Read more
Wharton Professor Yoram “Jerry” Wind calls himself a liberal Republican. Unhappy with what he considers far-right positions taken by his party, he searched for a way to change the GOP. Unsolicited, in July of 2000, Wind donated $250 to an Alexandria, Virginia-based political action committee: Republicans for Choice. Over the next nine years, he and his wife sent 10 more contributions to the same PAC, totaling $4,000. Like many of the more than 300 donors to the PAC since 2006, Wind expected that his contributions were going to help elect Republican candidates who support abortion rights — and “to fight against those who want to legislate against abortion.” Read more
The trouble signs surrounding Lend America had been building for years. A top executive was convicted of mortgage fraud but still helped run the company. Home loans made by its headquarters were defaulting at an extremely high rate. Federal prosecutors alleged in a civil suit that the company falsified loan documents and committed fraud.
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As health reform bills consume Congress, a battle over a program designed to help cut soaring rates of Medicare overpayment and fraud is playing out unnoticed on the sidelines. Read more
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


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