In observance of Ada Lovelace Day, I’d like to share some thoughts with you on the research work we do here at the Center for Responsive Politics.
I joined the Center about 10 years ago. What’s kept me here all these years is the dedication and the passion of the team’s members to the Centers mission.
Of course, this is not a convincing answer to my teen-age son who always wonders why his dad works fewer hours and makes more money than I do. Working long hours and during weekends certainly isn’t rare at the Center. The level of dedication to the accuracy and the quality of the data we produce is extremely high. With a small team and a great amount of work to do, sometimes I feel I’m working in a hospital emergency room, not for a non-profit organization.
Each time during these long hours I introduce an idea for new data analyses, my colleagues joke that I must’ve had a dream about it. So, I want to share with you my latest dream: to compare bills listed on federal lobbying reports with the number of corporations or organizations that lobbied on these bills. The goal would be to make a connection between industries and legislation.
Data, when it is cleaned and well organized, is a great storyteller.
So, in the near future, when a visitor to OpenSecrets.org searches for information on a particular bill, he or she will likely be able to see the number of corporations and organizations that lobbied on the bill. The lobbying clients will be divided by sector, and the data will appear in a pie chart similar to the one here:
Under another tab, visitors could view the top lobbying clients and their lobbying expenditures for this bill, which happens to be the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2010. Furthermore, and under another lobbying tab, visitors may see the contributions from these lobbying clients’ political action committees and employees to federal candidates, leadership PACs and parties. For example:
| Donor | Cycle | Total $ | PAC $ | Individuals $ |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lockheed Martin |
2010
|
1,634,177
|
1,487,700
|
146,477
|
| Boeing Co. |
2010
|
1,520,430
|
1,340,500
|
179,930
|
| Raytheon Co. |
2010
|
1,406,416
|
1,361,500
|
44,916
|
| Northrop Grumman |
2010
|
1,160,865
|
1,009,550
|
151,315
|
| General Dynamics |
2010
|
982,875
|
879,900
|
102,975
|
| BAE Systems |
2010
|
641,365
|
611,500
|
29,865
|
| SAIC Inc. |
2010
|
539,574
|
452,250
|
87,324
|
| United Technologies |
2010
|
444,750
|
429,000
|
15,750
|
| L-3 Communications |
2010
|
274,520
|
256,800
|
17,720
|
| Harris Corp. |
2010
|
211,850
|
188,700
|
23,150
|
| Cubic Corp. |
2010
|
113,250
|
72,500
|
40,750
|
| Alliant Techsystems |
2010
|
99,087
|
90,687
|
8,400
|
| Mantech International |
2010
|
98,024
|
68,000
|
30,024
|
| Finmeccanica SpA |
2010
|
96,220
|
72,000
|
24,220
|
| European Aeronautic Defence and Space |
2010
|
56,350
|
51,500
|
4,850
|
| Rockwell Collins Inc. |
2010
|
49,600
|
37,500
|
12,100
|
| Dynetics Inc. |
2010
|
47,750
|
30,500
|
17,250
|
| Davidson Technologies |
2010
|
45,383
|
0
|
45,383
|
| Alion Science and Technology |
2010
|
42,470
|
33,100
|
9,370
|
| Renco Group |
2010
|
32,550
|
0
|
32,550
|
Most projects at OpenSecrets.org start with similar dreams and usually end up as new features on our website to shed more light on the influence of money in politics.
Jihan Andoni is the Center for Responsive Politics’ research director and a periodic contributor to Capital Eye