When you’re a lobbyist, you’ve got to find all sorts of ways to influence Congress. Last Thursday, the American Chemistry Council (ACC) found a quirky way to lobby about the benefits of chlorine — hold an ice cream social in the Rayburn House Office Building by the U.S. Capitol. We were there. Because Congress was officially
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Military industry lobbyists are using the Tea Party as props to fight back against defense cuts. Companies that benefit from tens of billions of taxpayer dollars, many of which are for unnecessary and wasteful programs, are attempting to co-opt political support as they desperately try to maintain their pork barrel contracts. Take, for example, the
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The predatory schools of the for-profit college industry — Kaplan, Corinthian, Bridgepoint, and others — are on high alert. President Obama recently signed an executive order aimed at protecting veterans from bad behavior by these colleges. Speaking to U.S. troops at Fort Stewart, Georgia, the President called the conduct of these schools “appalling” and “disgraceful”
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Today, Bank of America held its annual shareholder meeting in Charlotte, North Carolina. As hundreds protested the bank’s heavy-handed political giving outside, a group of shareholders inside voted on various resolutions. Charlotte Observer business reporter Andrew Dunn notes that all shareholder resolutions failed. But a resolution calling on the company to disclose more about its
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Today, 2012’s Fortune 500 list was revealed. The list ranks the largest American corporations by revenue and profits, in an attempt to label the country’s most successful businesses. In an America where Big Money buys access and power in our politics, it’s important to realize that the companies that top the Fortune 500 list not
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On Monday, Latino members of Congress held their annual Congressional Hispanic Caucus fundraising event at a golf course near Andrews Air Force Base. The caucus serves as a forum for Latino members of both the House and the Senate, but often functions as an avenue for corporate lobbyists to funnel cash to lawmakers under the
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On Tuesday afternoon, Senate Republicans blocked a measure that would have prevented a big hike for student loan interest rates. The legislation would have kept “subsidized Stafford loans at 3.4 percent for an additional year, rather than doubling automatically for new loans starting July 1.” While the vote yesterday was certainly a partisan battle, a
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Last night, Senator Richard Lugar (R-IN), the longest serving GOP member of the U.S. Senate, lost his primary election to Richard Mourdock. Though it’s possible Lugar may mount an independent bid for the general election, many prognosticators have already said that his elected career is probably over. (Although Lugar has been compared to Lisa Murkowski’s
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