On Monday, the United States Senate began its first serious debate on Campaign Finance Reform in the last decade as it took up the McCain-Feingold bill. Previous efforts to get this seven-year-old bill to the floor had been prevented by Senate procedural moves or by threat of a filibuster. However, the new 50/50 split between Democrats and Republicans in the Senate, coupled with the momentum...

Every citizen of the United States (and anyone else with an interest in politics) should take a close look at the MAPLight.org website. This rather innovative database brings together three unique data sets including bill texts, legislative voting records, and supporting and opposing interests for each bill. This data allows users to determine the contributions given by interests supporting and...

After two weeks of unusually open debate and hours of backroom maneuvering, the Senate will vote on Monday on the most sweeping overhaul of campaign finance law since 1976. Despite several ploys by opponents, Senators John McCain (R-AZ) and Russ Feingold (D-WI) have managed to keep their both their coalition and the bill largely intact. The latest hurdle was passed yesterday, when the Senate voted...

Using data from the Federal Election Commission which was compiled by the Center for Responsive Politics (CRP) (see the July 10, 1999 Scout Report), Mother Jones has put together an eye-opening Website which reveals the nation's top 400 financial political contributors and what they may be expecting for their contributions. Users may browse the list of contributors by industry or individual donor...

The Center for Responsible Politics was originally founded in 1983 by a bipartisan team of United States senators who were concerned about the increasing influence of money in American politics. The Center's OpenSecrets website came online just after the 1996 elections, and has been publishing analyses of money in politics ever since. The site's landing page, where readers can find daily blog...