The for-profit college industry gets about $32 billion of its approximately $35 billion annual revenue from federal financial aid. Fifteen of the largest for-profits get 86 percent of their money from federal student aid programs – such as Pell grants, student loans, and the G.I. Bill. Yet every time someone proposes making their schools more
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All over the country, the agriculture industry is pushing “Ag Gag” bills that would criminalize people who take undercover videos at factory farms to expose the abuse of animals and unsanitary conditions that could sicken people. On Tuesday, the Missouri House of Representatives passed an “Ag Gag” bill. Rep. Casey Guernsey (R), the chief sponsor of
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We’ve all seen them. Television commercials from Big Pharma promising love and happiness if we take the products being advertised. Kathleen Slattery-Moschkau, a former 10 year Pharma sales rep, in 2009 explained how the industry manipulates consumers with its advertising: “We’ve seen the industry medicalizing so many different things throughout your life. If you’re shy, take
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The Republic Report’s story on how Intuit lobbies to make filing taxes annoying has sparked a fascinating conversation on Reddit.  We still haven’t heard from the White House on why they haven’t implemented their campaign promise to make pre-filed tax forms a reality, but we did hear just how easy it is to file in other countries
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Check out this funny new Tumblr.

President Obama could take action right now to help clean up our election system. Last month, we published a list of different steps Obama could take immediately, including issuing executive orders and using the S.E.C. to require publicly traded companies to disclose political spending for investors. But as The Hill’s Mike Lillis reports, the administration
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On March 29th, the New England Council — a “non-partisan alliance of businesses, academic and health institutions, and public and private organizations throughout New England” that bills itself as “New England’s voice on Capitol Hill for more than 85 years” — held a private breakfast inside one of the buildings that houses the offices of
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In recent weeks, Republic Report joined a coalition of other groups to demand that companies withdraw affiliation with the American Legislative Exchange Council, a front group that helps lobbyists pass pro-corporate legislation in states across the country. [See our letter to ALEC board members here] Republic Report’s Suzanne Merkelson covered how the Bill and Melinda
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