Term
| 67. Mega-Bundlers Up Financing Ante |
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Definition
| massive amounts of money are being raised through joint fund-raising committees, in which many donors bundle their money together (still in increments of 2,300). Obama and McCain had several mega bundlers |
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Term
| 52. Whispers of Mergers Set Off Bouts of Suspicious Trading |
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Definition
| 9 percent of the cases filed by the commission since Feb. 1 have been based on insider trading, which can encompass merger or any other news that would affect a company's market price. |
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Term
| 53. SEC Says Ex-Journal Reporter Got $31,000 For Tips on Market-Sensitive News Stories |
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Definition
| The Securities and Exchange Commission accused a former Wall Street Journal reporter, R. Foster Winans, and four others of pursuing a scheme to profit illegally from stock trading based on market-sensitive information leaked by Mr. Winans. |
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Term
| 58. Microsoft Window of Influence |
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Definition
| Microsoft says it had to take action after it was beaten to Washington by its rivals in the software business -- including Netscape Communications Corp. and Sun Microsystems Inc. -- which mounted an aggressive campaign in late 1996 accusing Microsoft of rampant antitrust violations. That lobbying effort, Microsoft officials believe, helped launch the antitrust suit filed last May by the Justice Department and 19 state attorneys general. |
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Term
| 59. Lobbying is Democracy in Action |
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Definition
| We are a collection of special interests, and one person’s special interest is another’s job or moral crusade. If people can’t organize to influence government—to muzzle or shape its powers—then democracy is dead. Lobbying is not only for the rich. |
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Term
| 60. Hill Lawmakers Retire, Reap Millions as Lobbyists |
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Definition
| Federal records show that 103 former members of Congress are registered to lobby. Makin the big bucks |
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Term
| 62. Wal-Mart Opens for Business in a Tough Market |
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Definition
| Wal-Mart executives directed Mr. [Jay Allen] to hire the company's first full-time lobbyist. The trick: finding someone who would remain true to Wal-Mart's practical, no-frills culture, says Mr. Allen. The company's political action committee was the biggest corporate donor to federal parties and candidates in 2003 |
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Term
| 63. Lobbyist Accepts Plea Deal and Becomes Star Witness in a Wider Corruption Case |
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Definition
| ack Abramoff pleaded guilty to three felony counts on Tuesday as part of a settlement with federal prosecutors, instantly becoming the star witness in a sweeping federal investigation into public corruption in Washington. The inquiry could involve as many as a dozen lawmakers, people involved in the case said. |
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Term
| 64. Senate Approves Major Overhaul of Ethics Rules |
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Definition
| The legislation is aimed at reining in the influence of special interests by forbidding lobbyists and their employers from buying meals and gifts for lawmakers and paying for their junkets.The ethics bill was the first one brought before the Senate by its newly elected Democratic majority |
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Term
| 65. Drug Industry Having Long Smiled on G.O.P. Now Splits Donations Equally |
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Definition
| After favoring Republicans by a ratio of more than two to one for most of the last decade, pharmaceutical companies and others in the health care industry are now splitting their contributions evenly between the two major parties, campaign finance reports show. |
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Term
| 50. Businesses Go Toe to Toe with SEC |
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Definition
| As the number of high-profile corporate accounting scandals starts to diminish, business groups are starting to challenge the authority of regulators to impose new rules and restrictions. |
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