Highlights of testimony submitted by CMD to the U.S. Senate's Judiciary Committee in July 2012, where it provided case studies of some of the secretly-funded nonprofit groups that have reportedly received subpoenas in the "John Doe" probe.
Amazon.com founder Jeff Bezos' latest initiative promoting the use of commercial unmanned aerial vehicles, commonly referred to as drones, to deliver his company's products has drawn scrutiny and criticism from numerous parties.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has told manufacturers of antibacterial soaps and body washes to demonstrate that they are both safe and effective within the next year.
The Franklin Center for Public Integrity and its Wisconsin Reporter website have aggressively attacked the "John Doe" probe into possible campaign finance violations during Wisconsin's 2011 and 2012 recall elections, and have broken news regarding the apparent targets of the investigation, but have omitted an important fact: some of its key staff may be caught up in the investigation.
The State Policy Network (SPN), a web of right-wing "think tanks" in every state across the country, has close ties with the tobacco industry. When tobacco companies like Reynolds American or Altria/Philip Morris want to avoid tobacco taxes and health regulations, reports by SPN groups in many states can help inspire local resistance.
The Madison Group, the predecessor to the State Policy Network (SPN) was "launched by ALEC . . . and housed in the Chicago-based Heartland Institute.
The Internal Revenue Service and Treasury Department proposed new rules on November 29 to provide clearer definitions of political activity for 501(c)(4) nonprofits.
"I'm proud to stand with ALEC today," declared Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) on Thursday, as he addressed the American Legislative Exchange Council in Washington DC.
The Guardian published a set of coordinated fundraising proposals from State Policy Network (SPN) members today that confirm many of these groups' intent to change state laws and policies, referring to "advancing model legislation" and "candidate briefings." These activities "arguably cross the line into lobbying," The Guardian notes. The Center for Media and Democracy (CMD) highlighted these questionable political activities in its recent report, "EXPOSED: The State Policy Network: The Powerful Right-Wing Network Helping to Hijack State Politics and Government," as well as in a recent follow-up article.
Financial services company Visa has dropped its membership in the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC), providing further evidence of ALEC's dwindling membership in the wake of a major expose by The Guardian. Visa (whose slogan is "everywhere you want to be") made the announcement to Boston Common Asset Management, which had been engaging with Visa over the past year on lobbying disclosure.
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