http://www.publicintegrity.org//favicon.ico http://www.publicintegrity.org//images/layout/cpi_logo_print.jpg http://www.publicintegrity.org/blog/ The Center for Public Integrity Blog en elincoln@publicintegrity.org Copyright 2010 2010-03-18T00:20:16+00:00 http://www.publicintegrity.org/blog/entry/2002/ http://www.publicintegrity.org/blog/entry/2002/#When:00:20:16Z The Environmental Protection Agency is ordering clearer labels for all “spot-on” flea and tick treatments applied directly to dogs’ and cats’ skin, and will consider banning the products if pet deaths and illnesses linked to them don’t decline.

]]> 2010-03-18T00:20:16+00:00 http://www.publicintegrity.org/blog/entry/1999/ http://www.publicintegrity.org/blog/entry/1999/#When:15:21:02Z As both parties in the House attempt to get the upper hand on earmark repudiation, Florida Republican John Mica also tossed a curve ball to the White House last week. Cut down on the "Executive earmarks," the congressman wrote in an op-ed for The Hill, arguing that branch of government's spending "has not come under similar scrutiny."

]]> Transportation 2010-03-17T15:21:02+00:00 http://www.publicintegrity.org/blog/entry/1998/ http://www.publicintegrity.org/blog/entry/1998/#When:21:26:06Z No government information would be considered “public” unless it is posted on the Internet in user-friendly formats, according to a House bill introduced on Tuesday. Rep. Steve Israel, D-N.Y., says his legislation aims to redefine the meaning of “public” by recognizing that government data and documents should be easily available to anyone with a computer.

]]> 2010-03-16T21:26:06+00:00 http://www.publicintegrity.org/blog/entry/1995/ http://www.publicintegrity.org/blog/entry/1995/#When:11:00:33Z To mark Sunshine Week, open-government groups are assessing President Barack Obama’s pledge to make the federal bureaucracy more open and less secretive. The administration’s grade after nearly 14 months: Needs Improvement.

]]> Accountability, Government 2010-03-16T11:00:33+00:00 http://www.publicintegrity.org/blog/entry/1993/ http://www.publicintegrity.org/blog/entry/1993/#When:18:49:48Z If numbers are to be trusted, longtime advertising lobbyist Jim Davidson of Polsinelli Shughart is the top dog of the 2009 health care reform battle. Davidson’s name shows up 88 times, more than any other lobbyist, in a Center for Public Integrity database of health reform lobbyists compiled from U.S. Senate lobby disclosure records.

]]> Government, Money, Politics 2010-03-15T18:49:48+00:00 http://www.publicintegrity.org/blog/entry/1988/ http://www.publicintegrity.org/blog/entry/1988/#When:16:05:12Z A Kuwaiti company held up to illustrate a major loophole in the accountability of foreign contractors won’t get a lucrative logistics contract for trucking and storage in war zones, at least not without having to compete. The Pentagon bowed to congressional criticism this week that the award should have been subject to competition. KGL Holding Co. and one of its business units has been criticized for its behavior toward the family of an Army officer killed in an accident involving a KGL truck in Iraq, and for allegations of human trafficking.

]]> Defense 2010-03-12T16:05:12+00:00 http://www.publicintegrity.org/blog/entry/1986/ http://www.publicintegrity.org/blog/entry/1986/#When:19:38:13Z U.S. House Democrats and Republicans are in the midst of one-upping each other on the issue of earmarks – the very sort of earmarks that were the subject of a major Center investigation, The Murtha Method, last fall. But this time it’s not about which party can insert the most earmarks for pet projects into legislation. Instead, House members are hurrying to shun earmarks as the politically toxic symbols of inside-the-Beltway corruption and fiscal imprudence. Yet to be seen is whether Senate lawmakers will also swear off earmarks.

]]> Accountability, Finance, Government, Money, Politics 2010-03-11T19:38:13+00:00 http://www.publicintegrity.org/blog/entry/1973/ http://www.publicintegrity.org/blog/entry/1973/#When:18:52:30Z The transportation lobby stands united in its collective angst with Republican Sen. Jim Bunning of Kentucky, whose objections to deficit spending brought many of the federal government’s highway programs to a halt Sunday night. The political impasse over a $10 billion bill extending unemployment benefits carried the additional consequence of halting spending from the federal highway trust fund, which pays for roads, bridges and safety inspections. Until the stand-off ends, thousands of federal employees are furloughed and hundreds of millions in state funding is in limbo.

]]> Transportation 2010-03-02T18:52:30+00:00 http://www.publicintegrity.org/blog/entry/1963/ http://www.publicintegrity.org/blog/entry/1963/#When:17:30:56Z When a U.S. hockey player lays out a Canadian opponent, he need not worry about stitches, a concussion or knocked-out teeth. Unlike 46 million Americans, U.S. Olympians have health insurance.

]]> 2010-02-25T17:30:56+00:00 http://www.publicintegrity.org/blog/entry/1934/ http://www.publicintegrity.org/blog/entry/1934/#When:19:07:55Z After years of fielding complaints about the ubiquitous weed-killer and water pollutant atrazine, the Environmental Protection Agency has decided to take a closer look at the product, used on corn and other crops, mainly in the Midwest. Some of those complaints are documented in a database produced by the Center in 2008 as part as of our Perils of the New Pesticides investigation.

]]> Environment 2010-02-09T19:07:55+00:00