The IRE Resource Center is a major research library containing more than 23,250 investigative stories — both print and broadcast. These stories are searchable online or by contacting the Resource Center directly (573-882-3364 or rescntr@ire.org) where a researcher can help you pinpoint what you need. Browse or search the tipsheet section of our library below. Stories are not available for download but can be easily ordered by contacting the Resource Center:
Search results for "Rules Committee" ...
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Buying the Election
“Never Mind the Super PACs: How Big Business Is Buying the Election” investigates previously unreported ways that businesses have taken advantage of the Supreme Court’s Citizens United ruling, which overturned a century of campaign finance law and allowed corporations to spend directly on behalf of candidates. The piece debunks a common misperception that businesses have taken advantage of their new political spending powers primarily through so-called Super PACs. In fact, most Super PAC donations have come from extremely wealthy individuals, not corporations. The investigation shows how corporations have instead used a variety of 501(c) nonprofits, primarily 501(c)(6) “trade associations,” to direct substantial corporate money on federal elections. As one prominent advisor to GOP candidates as well as corporations points out, "many corporations will not risk running ads on their own," for fear of the reputational damage, but the trade groups make these ad buys nearly anonymous. In 2010, 501(c)(6) trade associations and 501(c)(4) issue-advocacy groups outspent Super PACs $141 million to $65 million. The investigation shows that the growth of trade association political spending has had a number of significant ramifications, such as increased leverage during beltway lobbying campaigns. Most troublingly, legal loopholes allow foreign interests to use trade associations to directly influence American elections. One of the most significant revelations in the piece was that the American Petroleum Institute, a trade association for the oil and gas industry, had funneled corporate cash to groups that had run hard-hitting campaign ads while being led in part by a lobbyist for the Saudi Arabian government, Tofiq Al-Gabsani. As an API board member, Al-Gabsani was part of the team that directed these efforts, which helped defeat candidates who supported legislation that would move American energy policy away from its focus on fossil fuels. Federal law prevents Al-Gabsani, as a foreign national, from leading a political action committee, or PAC. But nothing in the law stopped him from leading a trade group that made campaign expenditures just as a PAC would.
Tags: Elections; campaign finance; corporations; Super PACs
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OC Assemblyman In Bed With Lobbyist
When Michael Duvall, an Ex-Orange County assemblyman, described portions of his affair, he did not know it would be broadcasted for the public to hear. Duvall has been a consistent supporter for conservative issues and has long supported California families and their values. But after becoming the vice chairman of the Utilities and Commerce committee women, especially a lobbyist for the utility giant in California, began to notice him. This is how the affair started and resigning as assemblyman is how it ended.
Tags: Michael Duvall; Heidi DeJong Barsuglia; assembly district representative; conservative; Rules Committee; Republican; politician; affair; California
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"Fannie and Freddie Fire Their Own IG"
The inspector general of the Federal Housing Finance Agency, "home to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac," relinquished his position after a ruling by the "Department of Justice's Office of Legal Counsel." The Department of Justice responded to a request from the committee that claimed their inspector general did not have the "authority" to be operating.
Tags: Fannie Mae; Freddie Mac; Federal Housing Finance Agency; inspector general; Department of Justice; Congress; IG
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Series on Congressman Jerry Weller
Congressman Jerry Weller (R-Ill.) is married to a foreign government official, Zury Rios Sosa, daughter of former Guatemalan dictator Efrain Rios Montt. Weller is a member of a committee "whose main focus is Latin America," and "has been silent about Guatemalan problems that affect the U.S., particularly drug smuggling." The investigation also found that Weller failed to report on his congressional disclosure form the amount of beachfront property he owns in Nicaragua, putting him in "violation of house ethics rules and U.S. law."
Tags: Jerry Weller; Zury Rios Sosa; Efrain Rios Montt; Guatemala; political conflicts of interest; politicians' financial disclosure forms
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Missouri Chicken Pox Vaccine
This reporter working closely with the Joint Committee on Administrative Rules checks out why there is opposition to a law making Chicken Pox vaccines mandatory. According to this story, this issue is being debated in other states such as Illinois since some medical professionals are against the inoculations.
Tags: Chicken Pox vaccines; vaccination; inoculation; Joint Committee on Administrative Rules; JCAR; Illinois; medical professionals; immunization
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Paying for Schools
This series of stories takes an in-depth look at how schools are financed in California. The investigation found it to be an incredibly convoluted and inequitable system. The distribution of money from district to district is uneven, and politics often determine who gets the most money. A lot of the money is doled out based on outdated programs with little connection to modern day needs in schools. Much of the money is released to schools with little or no state monitoring of whether the programs are working or even happening, and some actually aren't.
Tags: spending; school programs; Governor Gray Davis; school budget; school funding; Gifted and Talented Education; Bilingual Teacher Training; Gang Risk Intervention; West Contra Costa Unified School District; Dropout Prevention Program; Anti-Defamation League; English Language Acquisition Program; Department of Education; Economic Impact Aid; California Legislature; Senate Rules Committee; public education
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U.S. Rep. Karen McCarthy's Troubling Performance
The Associated Press reveals that five-term congresswoman, Karen McCarthy, has a pattern of skipped votes, high staff turnover and questionable office spending. For years she had missed important votes on the floor and in the House Energy and Commerce Committee. She hired, fired and lost aides at a seemingly dysfunctional rate. Her legislative record shows she passed only one bill in eight and a half years. And she was trying to stick taxpayers with a campaign consultant's bill in violation of House rules. McCarthy announced her retirement one month after AP broke the allegations.
Tags: Congress; Missouri Rep. Karen McCarthy; House Energy and Commerce Committee; taxpayers; House of Representatives; House Administration Committee; legislative record; campaign bill; campaign credit card; travel itinerary; votes; Congressional Observer Publications; Congressional Management Foundation; House spending records; National Conference of State Legislatures; Select Committee on Homeland Security; National Taxpayers Union; campaign consultant; campaign funds; personal spending; House Ethics Committee; Ways and Means Committee
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The Dirty Hill
A New Republic investigation reveals that congressmen often violate fund-raising rules. Many have solicited contributions from their offices in possible violation of a federal law, and others have found loopholes to reimburse aides and Congress staffers for helping with campaigns, the story finds. The Federal Election Commission - the formal mechanism to stop all that - has been practically disemboweled through rules and laws adopted by the Congress it is supposed to regulate. The article points out that, as of 1997, there were at least eight members of Congress who might have been party to breaking the law in their fund-raising efforts. "After they are properly investigated, maybe we can go after the ones who do it legally," the reporter concludes.
Tags: Federal Election Commission; Congressional Forum; Appropriations Committee; lobbying; lobbyists; corruption; advocacy; aides; freebies; donations; contributions
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The Third House Rises
National Journal examines "a shadowy arm of Congress," the so-called conference committees whose work is to reconcile competing versions of House and Senate bills. "No rules govern their activities, and once they've made their decision, their legislative handiwork is presented to rank-and-file lawmakers on a take-it-or-leave-it basis," reports the magazine. The story looks at the role that conference committees played in the federal legislative process in recent years. The author points out that, with the coming of the new administration of George W. Bush, conference committees "will become ground zero in battles between the Republican-controlled House and the Democratic-controlled Senate."
Tags: GOP; Congress; Senate; Republicans; Democrats; politicians; White House; vetoes; Clinton; Clean Air Act
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Echelon
A CBS News 60 Minutes investigation discovers that a top-secret, "little-known system called Echelon is able to intercept virtually any electronic transmission worldwide." The story reports on the European Union concerns over corporate espionage by the NSA. It finds that "the Echelon program is far more vast than the EU had presented, and that the globe is peppered with huge spy stations..." The report reveals that, while the American National Security Agency "is forbidden by American law to spy on American citizens, .... Canada and England do the spying on behalf of the NSA and simply send the information to their American colleagues." The investigation finds that these two countries "use the same loophole to get around their own domestic surveillance rules," and uncovers reports that Echelon has listened in on late Princess Diana, Amnesty International and Greenpeace.
Tags: TAPE; TRANSCRIPT; FOIA; intelligence; national security; Federation of American Scientists; Menwith Hill; House Intelligence Committee; Congress; traffic; parliament; encryption; law enforcement