Corporate Crackdown: Latest News Stories

House Leaders Bar Earmarks to For-Profit Companies

rsillman — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 17:03:27 -0500

WASHINGTON — House Democratic leaders said on Wednesday that they would no longer dole out budget “earmarks” to profit-making companies, wiping out one of the most lucrative and controversial means of awarding no-bid contracts to private firms.

The ban is the most aggressive step yet in a three-year effort in Congress to curb abuses in the awarding of earmarks, which direct that federal money be spent in a very specific way. The move follows criminal investigations, ethics inquiries and political embarassment linked to the use of earmarks.

Corporate justice at our expense

rsillman — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 11:12:51 -0500

The Supreme Court’s recent slim majority decision in Citizens United has opened floodgates that long prevented corporate cash from drowning out the voices of American citizens in election campaigns. Those who care about the integrity of the American political process view this decision with concern and astonishment.

Higher Corporate Spending on Election Ads Could Be All but Invisible

rsillman — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 11:10:55 -0500

The Supreme Court recently freed [1] corporations to spend more money on aggressive election ads. But if businesses take advantage of this new freedom, the public probably won't know it, because it's easy for them to legally hide their political spending.

Under current disclosure laws for federal elections, it's virtually impossible for the public to track how much a business spends, what it's spending on, or who ultimately benefits. Experts say the transparency problem extends to state and local races as well.

Business groups target lawmakers

rsillman — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 11:09:07 -0500

Nearly a dozen business groups that oppose President Obama's health care overhaul bill are spending millions of dollars to put pressure on vulnerable, fence-sitting House members in their districts.

Employers for a Healthy Economy, which counts health insurers, manufacturers, retailers and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce among its members, said it is spending between $4 million and $10 million on television ads that ask House members to oppose the Senate's health bill.

A Consumer Bill Gives Exemption on Payday Loans

rsillman — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 11:17:31 -0500

WASHINGTON — Senator Bob Corker, the Tennessee Republican who is playing a crucial role in bipartisan negotiations over financial regulation, pressed to remove a provision from draft legislation that would have empowered federal authorities to crack down on payday lenders, people involved in the talks said. The industry is politically influential in his home state and a significant contributor to his campaigns, records show.

Critics question whistleblower bill

rsillman — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 11:08:43 -0500

In a bid to secure a much-needed bipartisan victory, the Obama administration is trying to secure passage of protections for government whistleblowers. But some advocacy groups are complaining that the legislation does not go far enough to protect government employees in the national security field and, in fact, would roll back protections that FBI whistleblowers now have.

Bank of America to End Debit Overdraft Fees

rsillman — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 11:05:05 -0500

In a move that could bring an end to the $40 cup of coffee, Bank of America said on Tuesday that it was doing away with overdraft fees on purchases made with debit cards, a decision that could cost the bank tens of millions a year in revenue and put pressure on other banks to do the same.

Bank officials said that effective this summer, customers who try to make purchases with their debit cards without enough money in their checking accounts will simply be declined. Debit purchases account for roughly 60 percent of overdrafts at Bank of America, the nation’s largest issuer of debit cards.

Analysis finds uneasy mix in auto industry and regulation

rsillman — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 11:00:28 -0500

Dozens of former federal officials are playing leading roles in helping carmakers handle federal investigations of auto defects, including those for Toyota's runaway-acceleration problems.

A Washington Post analysis shows that as many as 33 former National Highway Traffic Safety Administration employees and Transportation Department appointees left those jobs in recent years and now work for automakers as lawyers, consultants and lobbyists and in other jobs that deal with government safety probes, recalls and regulations.

Wall St. Lobbyists Up Pressure on Dodd

rsillman — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 10:57:11 -0500

Financial services lobbyists are upping the pressure on Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Chairman Chris Dodd (D-Conn.) and Sen. Bob Corker (Tenn.), a key Republican on the panel, to limit the scope of a proposed consumer protection agency.

While several provisions of a sweeping financial services reform bill still remain in flux, banks and big-business groups are putting their focus on the consumer-protection details.

Showdown looms for financial reform

rsillman — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 10:52:20 -0500

If there were any question that the stakes are high for financial reform, consider this: Even the Defense Department is getting into the fight.

Pentagon brass want a new consumer watchdog agency to regulate auto dealers so they don’t rip off troops with predatory sales and shady financing deals. Democrats are hoping it’ll be hard for Republicans to oppose something Pentagon leaders want, at a time when troops are in harm’s way.

Key vacancies give Obama a chance to steer financial reform

rsillman — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 13:48:26 -0500

President Obama has the chance during his first term to appoint leaders for each of the federal agencies that oversee banks, an important opportunity to reshape the government's approach to regulation even as the White House struggles to push structural reforms through the Senate.

In his first such decision, Obama chose to keep Ben S. Bernanke as chairman of the Federal Reserve, in part because administration officials concluded that Bernanke had demonstrated a commitment to increasing the Fed's focus on regulation and consumer protection.

Systemic Failures May Give Blackwater Another Afghanistan Contract

rsillman — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 13:41:52 -0500

By March 24, the private security corporation formerly known as Blackwater — last seen in Afghanistan shooting civilians and stealing weapons intended for the Afghan police — may win a new Defense Department contract to train the Afghan police. And nearly no one in the government wants to own up to how it could happen.

Load up 'reform' with corporate welfare, get a raise

rsillman — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 11:15:29 -0500

Jeff Kindler is the CEO of Pfizer, the nation's largest drug company, and he is also a happy man these days. Pfizer announced a 12.5% salary hike for Kindler, bringing his salary to $1.8 million, and his total compensation to $14.9 million.

One of the reasons cited, in Pfizer's proxy statement, for this raise: his health-care lobbying:

Senate Panel to Investigate Deaths at Long-Term Care Facilities

rsillman — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 11:06:59 -0500

The Senate Finance Committee has opened an investigation into patient deaths and allegations of substandard treatment at long-term care hospitals, small specialty medical centers that treat chronically ill patients.

The investigation focuses on the Select Medical Corporation, a for-profit corporation that runs 89 long-term care hospitals, more than any other company. In a letter sent on Monday to Select’s chief executive, Robert Ortenzio, the committee’s top two senators demanded that Select provide records about staffing levels and quality at its hospitals.

Watchdog: It’s Unreal How Few Contractors Get Debarred for Failure

rsillman — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 11:03:17 -0500

For more on the systemic failures in contracting that contribute to firms like Blackwater getting more and more security contracts after, like, killing civilians and stealing guns, check out Scott Amey’s recent testimony to the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform.

U.S. Chamber of Commerce grows into a political force

rsillman — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 10:58:31 -0500

Reporting from Washington - The U.S. Chamber of Commerce is building a large-scale grass-roots political operation that has begun to rival those of the major political parties, funded by record-setting amounts of money raised from corporations and wealthy individuals.

The chamber has signed up some 6 million individuals who are not chamber members and has begun asking them to help with lobbying and, soon, with get-out-the-vote efforts in upcoming congressional campaigns.

House committees seek more answers from Toyota

rsillman — Sat, 06 Mar 2010 13:30:59 -0500

Separate House committees are demanding more information from Toyota and government regulators after executives from the embattled Japanese automaker appear to have given conflicting answers about the causes of runaway vehicle acceleration plaguing the company.

The House Energy and Commerce Committee sent a letter to Toyota's U.S. sales head, Jim Lentz on Friday asking for deep and complete documentation showing why Toyota is confident that the runaway acceleration is caused by mechanical problems, not electronic ones, as the company has maintained.

Critics see peril in voting-machine merger

rsillman — Fri, 05 Mar 2010 12:15:01 -0500

The largest voting-machine company in the country bought its biggest competitor six months ago without advance notice and little fanfare. Now the Justice Department is investigating whether to unwind the merger that put a privately held Nebraska company in control of the voting machines in nearly 70 percent of the nation's precincts.

Treasury's bailout overseer shifts course from 'too big to fail'

rsillman — Fri, 05 Mar 2010 12:14:13 -0500

A senior Treasury Department official overseeing the financial bailout told a congressional panel Thursday that the government is not providing a blanket guarantee that it will save institutions deemed too big to fail.

The statement marks a shift in rhetoric from a year ago, when the Obama administration sought to assure markets that it would not allow the nation's biggest financial firms to collapse.

Official blows whistle on food-safety agency

rsillman — Fri, 05 Mar 2010 12:06:10 -0500

A Food Safety and Inspection Service veterinarian blew the whistle on his agency Thursday, telling lawmakers that managers repeatedly failed to heed his warnings about unsafe slaughterhouse practices, claims supported by government auditors who said the agency had failed to consistently enforce humane slaughtering standards.

Levin urges Pentagon to rethink plans for $1 billion in new Blackwater contracts

rsillman — Fri, 05 Mar 2010 12:04:12 -0500

The chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee has issued a strong warning to the Defense Department over plans to award $1 billion in new contracts to the firm formerly known as Blackwater, accusing managers of the private security company of lying to win lucrative jobs in Afghanistan.

Sen. Carl M. Levin (D-Mich.) also cited a history of allegedly abusive behavior by Blackwater employees, including misappropriation of government weapons and hiring of workers with criminal records that included assault and drug offenses.

Senators in Consumer Agency Talks

rsillman — Thu, 04 Mar 2010 11:46:45 -0500

WASHINGTON—Several senior Republicans have joined negotiations with Banking Committee Chairman Christopher Dodd (D., Conn.) over how to construct consumer-protection rules, potentially bringing more Republican votes to a broader revamp of finance rules—if Democrats can stomach more concessions.

"We're very, very, very close to a deal," Sen. Bob Corker (R., Tenn.) said in an interview.

The development came after a closed door meeting Tuesday night between Mr. Corker and Sens. Mitch McConnell (R., Ky.), Richard Shelby (R., Ala.), Judd Gregg (R., N.H.), and Mike Crapo (R., Idaho).

Senator Asks Justice Department to Look Into Blackwater Work for Raytheon

rsillman — Thu, 04 Mar 2010 11:45:19 -0500

The chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, Sen. Carl Levin (D., Mich.), has asked the Justice Department to look into Raytheon Co.'s use of a Blackwater Worldwide affiliate on a training contract in Afghanistan in order to avoid using the controversial security company's name.

Fed proposes limits on credit card penalty fees

rsillman — Thu, 04 Mar 2010 11:43:38 -0500

The Federal Reserve proposed restrictions Wednesday on penalty fees that credit card issuers can charge consumers, including limiting the amount of late fees.

One of the most significant changes would prohibit card companies from issuing penalty charges larger than the amount of the violation, a common consumer complaint. For example, a person who is late on a $20 minimum payment could not be hit with a $39 late fee. In addition, if a card's spending limit is exceeded by buying a $2 cup of coffee, the penalty fee cannot exceed $2.

Interference Seen in Blackwater Inquiry

rsillman — Thu, 04 Mar 2010 11:36:23 -0500

WASHINGTON — An official at the United States Embassy in Iraq has told federal prosecutors that he believes that State Department officials sought to block any serious investigation of the 2007 shooting episode in which Blackwater Worldwide security guards were accused of murdering 17 Iraqi civilians, according to court testimony made public on Tuesday.

Corker Out on a Limb on Financial Reform

rsillman — Thu, 04 Mar 2010 11:35:38 -0500

Sen. Bob Corker (Tenn.) is headed full bore into a bipartisan deal on a financial regulatory reform bill with Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Chairman Chris Dodd (D-Conn.), but it’s not at all clear that Corker’s fellow Republicans will back him.

GOP Senators said Corker’s blessing is not enough to ensure they will support it, noting they are still looking to ranking member Richard Shelby (R-Ala.) for the OK.

FDA warns 17 food companies of misleading claims on labels

rsillman — Thu, 04 Mar 2010 10:25:08 -0500

In an unusually broad crackdown, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has notified 17 food companies, including major brands such as Gerber and Nestle, that they have violated federal laws by making false or misleading claims on their product packaging.

The agency sent warning letters to the companies Feb. 22 and gave them 15 days to respond with an explanation of how they intend to correct the labels. If the companies fail to do so, the FDA said it might take further action, including product seizures.

White House Offers Bill to Restrict Big Banks’ Actions

rsillman — Wed, 03 Mar 2010 11:34:09 -0500

WASHINGTON — The Obama administration put forward legislation on Wednesday to rein in the size and scope of the nation’s largest banks. But the proposal faces strong resistance in Congress, where lawmakers have shown little appetite for adding to the prolonged debate on overhauling financial regulations.

The legislation would ban banks that take federally insured deposits from investing in hedge funds or private equity funds and from making trades that are for the benefit of the banks, not their customers, a practice known as proprietary trading.

FCC Chairman Genachowski confident in authority over broadband, despite critics

rsillman — Wed, 03 Mar 2010 10:36:54 -0500

Internet service providers are stepping up their campaign to prevent the Federal Communications Commission from regulating them like telephone companies and questioning the limits of the agency's power over the Internet.

Commission Chairman Julius Genachowski said in an interview Tuesday at The Washington Post that he's confident of the agency's authority, and that his focus is on moving ahead with the Obama administration's campaign to bring high-speed Internet to all American homes.

Ex-PMA Clients Lower Their Hill Profile

rsillman — Wed, 03 Mar 2010 10:35:37 -0500

It’s been almost a year since the PMA Group shut its doors amid a federal probe, but things are still not back to normal for many former clients of the now-defunct lobbying firm. A recent analysis shows that most of the corporations that once hired the defense lobbying shop spent significantly less on K Street last year.