Search results for "U.S. Senate Committee on Finance" ...

• Shriners Hospitals for Children Investigation Series

  Freelance reporter Sandy Frost investigated a tip from Shriner Vernon Hill that there were irregularities in the way the fraternal Shriners organization and the charitable Shriners organizations were handling their money and not complying with Standards For Charitable Accountability.

  Tags: Ancient Arabic Order of the Nobles of the Mystic Shrine AKA Shriners; Standards for Charity Accountability; 2001 Criminal Tax Manual; Hershel Gober; Philanthropic Research, Inc. AKA Guidestar.org; Second Avenue Partners; Mike Slade; Aquantive; Nick Hanauer; Shriners; Masons; Knights Templar; Royal Order of Jesters; National Sojourners Order of Quetzacoatl; Mike Severe, Imperial Officer, Shrine of America; compensation; real estate transactions; excessive benefit transactions; charitable donation fraud; HIPPA; Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002; Vernon Hill; Suite101.com; Paul Dolnier; 501c10 non profit fraternal corporation; 501c3 non profit charity; Better Business Bureau; Charity Watch Center; Pennsylvania's Charitable Special Investigation Unit; Internal Revenue Service; IRS; good old boy system; U.S. Senate Committee on Finance; whistleblower retaliation; Charles G. Cumpstone Jr., Potentate Stewart W. Lewis; Charities Review Council of Minnesota; Generally Accepted Accounting Principles; GAAP; Independent Sector; SLAPP: strategic lawsuits against public participation; Cabiri Royal Order of Scotland; International Order of Demolay

  By Cassandra (Sandy) Frost

  newsvine.com

  2006

• The McConnell Machine

  The Herald-Leader investigates U.S. Senate Majority Whip Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, whose campaign fundraising has reached impressive levels to the tune of $220 million, largely on behalf of fellow Republican senators. As the 2006 mid-term elections approached, McConnell was seen as a likely contender for Senate Majority leader, should the Republicans retain control (they did not, and he is now Senate Minority Leader). Anticipating this news, the Herald-Leader "examined McConnell's 22-year record of aggressive fundraising, cozy ties with top donors and related actions in the Senate." The newspaper found that McConnell benefited from his "influence over a little-known foreign aid committee; his marriage to Labor Secretary Elaine Chao, who regulates his corporate donors; and a former McConnell chief of staff turned Washington "gatekeeper lobbyist," whose clients tend to receive appropriations earmarks and helpful legislation from McConnell." McConnell has gained a reputation as an opponent of campaign-finance reform.

  Tags: Campaign finance; Mitch McConnell; Elaine Chao; Senate Minority Leader

  By John Cheves; Sharon Walsh; Marilyn Thompson; David Thompson; David Westphal; Lu-Ann Farrar; Linda J. Johnson

  Herald-Leader (Lexington, Ky.)

  2006

• Hands Out: Bush Tax Cuts Send Corporate lobbyists Into a Feeding Frenzy

  The Wall Street Journal examines the competition that the announced tax cuts have kindled among lobbyists in Washington. The reporters find that, "eager to enlarge their share, competing business blocs nay set off bidding war." The story sheds light on the effort of some of the biggest U.S. companies to "unify around one or two big cuts to get the largest possible share," and finds that "unity among disparate corporate interests is so far proving harder than business leaders would like." The story includes a sidebar with information about the top five donors to the House Ways and Means Committee members, as well as to the Senate Finance Committee members.

  Tags: PACs; donors; finance; taxation; business; research-and-development tax credit; New Economy; high-tech firms; industries

  By Jacob M. Schlesinger;John D. McKinnon

  Wall Street Journal (New York)

  2001

• The Most Expensive Race

  "Something crazy is happening in American politics. It is compounded of competitiveness, consultant specialization, a corrupted campaign-finance system, the maturation of polling and advertising technology and a surfeit of careless contributions in a booming economy." The most expensive congressional race of 2000 is between GOP incumbent James Rogan and Democratic State Senator Adam Stiff. The big story here may not be the contributions to the campaigns, but all the money spent on professional political fundraisers. L.A. politico Big Joe Cerrell calls this particular race "the consultant full employment act."

  Tags: PAC; fundraising; U.S. House of Representatives; direct mail; issue advocacy; National Republican Congressional Committee; Armenians; campaign finance; political consultants

  By James Benett

  New York Times Magazine

  2000