Page 35 - Sunlight Foundation News Today

The sunlight foundation and pogo, groups like that the ability of documents and know whats going on in government. isnt it amazing the government oversight committee sends a letter basically a glorified information act response and dont get a response. >> would you say if it were a republican were in the white house? >> i would. >> okay. >> okay. you may find out and we may find out some day so darrell issa -- >> not as popular with republicans for doing it. it shouldnt change just because the a...

Collecting $100,000 a year working part-time. $100,000 working part-time. its not just spending on the state level raising eyebrows this morning. a report from the non-profit sunlight foundation breaks down what congress bought itself with $1 billion in taxpayer money over a nine-month span. okay. $12.6 million went to student loans, $18 million went to computer hardware, $600,000 to bottled water. okay. unsettled questions this morning on some of the most complex issues in american life. is...

Actually have to have the money to back up their bets. in vegas you do. wall streets the only place where you can take bets and then transfer it to the government by bribing lawmakers. now i understand what our lawmakers are up against. i dont mean to be unsympathetic. anybody who takes the time to go to the sunlight foundation, for instance, look at their newest reports, demonstrates one reason politicians, quite honestly, are not eager to crackdown on these massive profit centers for banks eve...

Financial regulation -- regulatory reform. they dont want to have this conversation about taxes but it will be -- as soon as the november elections are over which the republicans if theyre smart, of course, will actually make that an issue. >> and the commission is going to come in and theyre going to say -- you know, alan simpson and who is the democrat on that special blue ribbon commission. theyre going to say -- >> thank you. >> the only way we can close the gap is well have to add a nationa...

It daily call tore run a correction. its not. the reporter to broke the story says quote: they delivered some of the key house votes to help pass the health care insurance reform plan into law. now the government watchdog group reports some of those same lawmakers requested a total of more than $3 billion for their districts. molly henneberg is live tonight in our washington newsroom. what is this watchdog group saying about these requests. >> they want to know if there is a link between the ear...

Trains and subways. in the middle box the u.s. treasury is selling its stake in citigroup it acquired in the massive bailout. the bank received seven -- the government received 7 billion in shares in exchange for 25 billion taxpayer dollars given to the bank. in the the bottom box the u.s. government releasing a new report on consumer spending this morning, consumers boosting spending slightly last month, the government saying it is a sign the economic recovery is moving at a decent pace. ja...

Bill, the request put in the day after the vote, as was required, a total, three oint $4 billion for all lawmakers, and the sunlight foundation wants to track these requests to see if lawmakers were rewarded for the yes vote. >> we know in congress one of the ways leadership tries to influence members is through earmarks, and so this seemed to be us -- seem to us to be a good thing to follow. >> reporter: after the vote, thats when the prop operations committee requested it, that was the deadlin...

Government watchdog group took a look at the earmark requests put in by democratic congressman bart stupak and ten other prolife democrats who ended up voting for the bill and those requests were submitted the next day, as was required. the requests totaled $4.7 billion for all 11 lawmakers and the sunlight foundation wants to track these requests to see if lawmakers were rewarded for their yes votes. >> we do know that there was pressure put on members, we do know that around the health care bi...

Democratic congressman bart stupak and 10 other pro-life democrats who ended up voting for the bill totaled $3.4 billion and alisyn says the sunlight foundation will watch the process through june or july to see how many of these earmarks are actually approved. >> shepard: anything from stupaks office on. this a statement from a stupak spokesperson says quote the congressmans vote for health care has no connection to annual appropriations requests. appropriations requests were submitted on monda...

It happened again. this time involving democratic congressman bart stupak. you know him. and ten other house members who gave the crucial vote, needed at the last minute, to narrowly pass the house health care bill. a budget watchdog group says a day after the lawmakers voted for the bill they asked for more than $3.4 billion in earmarks for the 2011 fiscal year. molly henneberg live from washington with more on the story. so this is the group called the sunlight foundation thats bringing this t...