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House votes to make dark money even harder to trace
Is it just us, or is dark money getting even darker? On Tuesday, the House passed H.R. 5053, the Preventing IRS Abuse and Protecting Free Speech Act. The bill forbids…
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Flickr – Kelly DeLay
Here’s another story to file under, “both parties are part of the problem:” see lobbyists comma Democratic national convention.
The Hill reported today that top officials at the Democratic National Committee met with some of the country’s top lobbyists to entice them to help fund the party’s 2016 convention. In exchange for providing top dollars, lobbyists representing companies like H&R Block and General Motors will receive “VIP treatment,” such as commingling with influential members of the DNC, photo ops and, it goes without saying, exclusive face-time with Democratic candidates.
Lobbyists and other wealthy special interests are able to give this kind of cash thanks to an under-the-radar rider slipped into last year’s must-pass budget bill known as the ‘cromnibus.’ That provision dramatically increased the contribution limits for donations to national parties, and it was written by Democrats and attached to the bill by Republicans. Never let it be said that the parties can’t work together.
The trading of donations for special perks not available to the rest of us is a bipartisan problem with a bipartisan solution: we need to pass common-sense rules regulating how lobbyists are allowed to contribute to our elected officials.
Issue: Money in Politics
Archived
Is it just us, or is dark money getting even darker? On Tuesday, the House passed H.R. 5053, the Preventing IRS Abuse and Protecting Free Speech Act. The bill forbids…
Archived
Say “catfish” in a seafood restaurant and you’ll be sure to get a nice plate of filling protein. But say “catfish” in Washington and you’re more likely to tick someone…
Archived
Republicans and Democrats agree on very little, but you’ll hear both parties decry government waste, fraud and abuse on the campaign trail. So where did Congress first look to save…