Here is Friday’s look at transparency-related news items, congressional committee hearings, transparency-related bills introduced in Congress, and transparency-related events.
News Roundup:
- The WSJ states that the public sector employees union AFCSME now leads the field in third-party expenditures. (Wall Street Journal)($)
- The U.S. Chamber of Commerce, which the Times states is the biggest non-party spender of 2010, finds big donors in American companies. (New York Times)
- There is significant debate as to who the biggest campaign spenders actually are. (Washington Independent)(Sunlight Foundation Reporting Group)
- Earmark reform will likely have many new allies in the next Congress. (National Journal)($)
- Despite a significant increase in campaign spending, whether ads have any real effect on an election is open to debate. (McClatchy)
- Oversight Committee Ranking Member Darrell Issa dismisses talk of impeaching President Obama under a GOP majority. (The Hill)
- Third-party group MoveOn.org is targeting Republican candidates that receive support from third party groups that do not disclose their donors. (Roll Call)($)
- Representative Ortiz may have requested millions of dollars in earmarks to benefit a company he founded. (The Hill)
- Many vulnerable Democratic incumbents are finding themselves out-raised by their GOP challengers. (Politico)
- Representative Rob Bishop makes the case for reforming the House’s scheduling process. (Politico)
Relevant committee hearings scheduled for 10/22:
- None
Relevant bills introduced:
- None
Transparency events scheduled for 10/22:
- None