When we released our first report in May about how much money subprime mortgage interests spent on lobbying and campaign contributions to fight consumer protections in Congress from 1999 to 2006, the word "subprime" was just starting to find its way in newspaper headlines. Since then, the media has been saturated with stories of how foreclosure rates continue to reach record levels, how investment firms from here to China that have holdings in the subprime market are getting burned, and how the effects of the subprime meltdown are leaking into other sectors of the economy. So we thought now would be a good time to revisit the issue.

We analyzed newly available data for the same top subprime lenders and trade associations from the first report to see what they've been doing. Here's what we found: despite facing serious financial struggles since the mortgage collapse, the biggest subprime lenders have spent $32 million in the first half of 2007 on lobbying and campaign donations to fight overwhelming public pressure on Congress to enact reforms for the subprime market.

To read the report, click here.

Check out Bob Edgar and other experts talking about the giveaway of one of the most important resources of the information age: the spectrum (also known as our publicly-owned airwaves).

The video is long, but it's worth taking the time to understand this issue.

The Supreme Court heard arguments today in Wisconsin Right to Life v. FEC, a challenge to the provision in the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act (BCRA, or the McCain-Feingold law) restricting special interest groups from using general funds to run "issue ads" in the days before an election.

More information about this provision and Common Cause's response to this challenge can be found here.  Countless organizations on both sides of the issue have signed onto amicus briefs, including Common Cause, and even the editorial boards have weighed in (here and here, for example) - but we'll have to wait until probably June before hearing their decision.

The big question marks, as in a lot of the cases now coming before the Court, are new Justices Roberts and Alito.  Common Cause was the leading force behind the substantive campaign finance reform that grew into BCRA, so we're paying very close attention to this situation and will, of course, keep you updated on how it develops.

Just when we thought it was never going to happen. FINALLY. The Colorado General Assembly passed Senate Bill 210, the compromise ethics implementation bill and it is now headed for the Governor's desk. This is no small feat, it has taken months to get this far. After a lot of feet dragging, the Colorado legislature is finally going to uphold the will of the voters.

Amendment 41, the Ethics in Government Initiative, was passed in November with over 62% of the vote. Higher than any other initiative on the ballot (and to be fair, there were 12 all together). Since its passage, it has become the talk of the town...literally. Opponents made wild claims that children of government employees would no longer receive college scholarships, and ranchers in southern Colorado couldn't receive disaster aid in the wake of giant snow storms. These claims caught on in the news, and the media storm that followed was something that none of us could have predicted. But, finally, Senate Bill 210 makes serious strides toward implementing the law the right way.