NewsTrust - Lobbying - Most Recent Stories

Advocacy Groups May Reshape Message During Holidays

Sun, 22 Nov 2009 00:00:00 -0800

New York Times - By Katharine Q. Seeleye - Nov. 22 (News Analysis) - The Senate debate on health care, set to begin the week after Thanksgiving, is now on course to collide with the holiday season. One question for advocacy groups on all sides will be whether to keep up their barrage of pointed commercials, even as chestnuts roast and stockings are hung.

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Road to Copenhagen Part: US Climate Legislation & Lobbyists

Sun, 22 Nov 2009 00:00:00 -0800

Grand Rapids Institute for Information Democracy - By Jeff Smith - Nov. 22 (News Analysis) - Called the American Clean Energy and Security Act of 2009, the Waxman-Markey bill was fought hard by the energy industry. According to a report by the Center for Public Integrity, “More than 460 new businesses and interest groups jumped into lobbying Congress on global warming in the weeks before the House neared its historic vote on climate change legislation.” You can see from the chart above that there was a spike in the amount of lobbying just prior to the bill’s passing.

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Obama Aims to Allay Auto Lobby Concern on Korea Trade

Sat, 21 Nov 2009 00:00:00 -0800

Bloomberg - By Edwin Chen, Julianna Goldman - Nov. 21 (News Report) - President Barack Obama said he is committed to pushing through a free trade agreement with South Korea that has been stalled by the U.S. auto lobby and unions, who argue it doesn’t do enough to open up Korean markets. Obama’s joint press conference in Seoul today with South Korean counterpart Lee Myung Bak was a last chance on his four- nation Asia trip to show he opposes protectionism. The accord has been held up in Congress, where lawmakers are demanding wider access for Chrysler Group LLC, Ford Motor Co. and General Motors Co. Lee said today he is willing to reopen talks on the auto industry.

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Colo. to review taxpayer-paid lobbyists practice

Sat, 21 Nov 2009 00:00:00 -0800

Associated Press - By Steven K. Paulson - Nov. 21 (News Report) - At a time of budget cuts, Democratic Gov. Bill Ritter's administration last year paid employees and outside contractors $1.1 million to lobby Colorado lawmakers on legislation ranging from renewable energy tax credits to increasing motor vehicle license fees. The administration and legislators are reviewing the long-standing practice of one branch of government lobbying another — one that predates the Ritter administration — as Colorado tries to close a $1 billion budget gap.

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The real reason Obama is not making much progress

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 00:00:00 -0800

The Independent - By Johann Hari - Nov. 20 (Opinion) - So far, Obama has tried to co-opt the corporations into his agenda by ensuring they will profit from any changes, but this inevitably waters down the proposals, often to the point of uselessness. The Cap and Trade legislation before Congress, for example, will barely limit carbon emissions at all because it has been gutted to please the polluters.

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U.S. Chamber of Commerce Split Over Donohue’s Climate Policy

Thu, 19 Nov 2009 00:00:00 -0800

New York Times - By John M. Broder - Nov. 19 (Special Report) - BACK in the 1990s when Thomas J. Donohue was president of the American Trucking Associations, a subordinate raised a question at a staff meeting. Some of the association’s members, the aide said, wondered whether it was really necessary for the group’s president to fly on a private jet.

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Tax credits eyed for solar energy firms amid Obama’s push for ‘green jobs’

Thu, 19 Nov 2009 00:00:00 -0800

The Hill - By Ben Geman - Nov. 19 (News Report) - Solar energy companies are lobbying for new tax credits for domestic manufacturers that would come on top of subsidies included in the $787 billion stimulus package enacted earlier this year. Solar energy companies are lobbying for new tax credits for domestic manufacturers that would come on top of subsidies included in the $787 billion stimulus package enacted earlier this year.

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General Electric Pursues Pot of Government Stimulus Gold

Wed, 18 Nov 2009 00:00:00 -0800

Wall Street Journal - By Elizabeth Williamson, Paul Glader - Nov. 18 (News Report) - The financial crisis hasn't been kind to General Electric Co. Its stock has lost almost half its value, the government has stepped in to prop up its enormous financial arm, and sales have slumped in core industrial businesses. But Chief Executive Jeffrey Immelt now has his eye on a huge new pool of potential revenue: Uncle Sam's stimulus dollars. Mr. Immelt, a registered Republican, quips about the shift in thinking in the nation's corner offices: "We're all Democrats now."

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How General Electric Engineered Its Presence on Capitol Hill

Wed, 18 Nov 2009 00:00:00 -0800

Wall Street Journal - By Paul Glader - Nov. 18 (News Report) - Many companies have offices in Washington D.C. for lobbying purposes, have employee-funded political-action committees to donate and influence politicians and belong to industry trade associations that lobby for their interests. General Electric Co., in recent years, has developed another way of engaging its business units with policy makers in Washington and other global capitols. It helps explain how President Barrack Obama has become GE's customer in chief.

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High noon in Washington, D.C.

Wed, 18 Nov 2009 23:05:22 -0800

Minneapolis Star Tribune - Nov. 18 -

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Citizens left out in cold

Wed, 18 Nov 2009 00:00:00 -0800

Indianapolis Star - Nov. 18 (Editorial) - State Rep. David Wolkins isn't shy about what he likes: golf, basketball and football. As ranking Republican member and former chairman of the Indiana House Environmental Affairs Committee, he's in a position to indulge his interests thanks to the very companies he's supposed to help regulate.

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Obama Nominates Pesticide Executive to Be Chief Agricultural Negotiator in the Office of the US Trade Representative