News
MapLight research on the influence of money and politics.
admin
|
April 18, 2013
spirit of america / Shutterstock
April 18, 2013—Facing opposition from Republicans, today Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, pulled gun legislation from the Senate floor indefinitely. "The best way to pass a background check bill is to hit pause," Reid said.
The bill's chances at passing lost steam on Thursday when 46 senators voted to uphold a filibuster of a bipartisan amendment from Sen. Joe Manchin and Sen. Pat Toomey that would have required background checks for all commercial gun sales, including those made on the internet and at gun shows.
How much money in campaign contributions has the NRA given to members of the 113th Congress?
admin
|
April 16, 2013
Toria / Shutterstock
April 17, 2013—On Monday, the same day that IBM flew nearly 200 executives to Washington D.C. to lobby Congress in support of CISPA, 36 members of the House signed onto the bill as new co-sponsors.
How much money in campaign contributions have the 36 new sponsors received from interest groups supporting CISPA?
admin
|
April 12, 2013
Pete Souza / Wikimedia Commons
April 16, 2013—On Friday, the House of Representatives passed a bill that would suspend all work of the National Labor Relations Board until legal questions about how some of its current members were appointed are resolved. In January, the D.C. Circuit Court ruled that President Obama had exceeded his constitutional authority by making recess appointments to the board while the Senate was in pro-forma session.
How much money did supporters of the bill give to members of the House?
admin
|
April 04, 2013
Charles Haynes and Jason McELweenie/Wikimedia Commons
April 11, 2013—On Wednesday, the House Intelligence Committee marked up and approved CISPA, a cybersecurity bill that has drawn intense opposition from the same Internet rights organizations that led last year’s fight against SOPA.
Both bills have had bipartisan support in Congress, but there is one key difference in the landscape of political influence around them: several high-contributing companies that were vocal opponents of SOPA have not expressed opposition to CISPA.
Who are these companies and how much money have they given to members of Congress?
admin
|
April 03, 2013
emin kuliyev/Shutterstock
April 3, 2013—A bill that, according to financial reform advocates, would allow banks to keep their publicly-funded backing for almost all of their derivatives activity was approved by the House Agriculture Committee was approved by a bipartisan vote of 31-14.
How much did committee members voting in favor of the bill receive from the biggest banks?
admin
|
April 02, 2013
Michael Fleshman/Flickr
April 3, 2013—Attorney General Eric Holder recently told the Senate Judiciary Committee that the size of big banks has "an inhibiting influence" on the government's ability to prosecute their criminal activity. By facilitating deregulation, bailing out insolvent institutions, and voting against limits on bank size, Congress has allowed these banks to grow as big as they currently are.
How much have the biggest banks contributed to members of Congress?
admin
|
March 29, 2013
thetaxhaven/Flickr
March 29, 2013—The House Agriculture Committee debated and passed seven bills designed to roll back derivatives regulations that were created by Congress three years ago in the Dodd-Frank financial reform bill.
The top four commercial banks—Bank of America, Goldman Sachs Bank, Citibank and JPMorgan Chase Bank—account for 93.2% of the derivative contracts held for trading.
How much have these banks contributed to members of the Agriculture Committee?