Peter Overby has been taking NPR listeners behind the scenes of American politics, where the money is raised and deals are made, since 1994.
Recent Stories
A group of Cuban Americans has had unusual success getting House members to change their positions and vote against closer ties with Cuba. New analysis shows some political contributions from the U.S.-Cuba Democracy Pac reached lawmakers within days of them switching their vote.
Democrats recently came to terms with a lobbying force of unexpected influence in the health care debate: the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops. Though the group has nary a lobbyist on its payroll, it successfully pushed for an anti-abortion amendment to be added to the House health overhaul bill.
The Obama presidential campaign rewrote the playbook for raising campaign cash in 2008. The Supreme Court may change it again before 2010: An upcoming decision could potentially curb the growing influence of small donors in favor of corporate America.
House Republicans are questioning whether the senior citizens lobby is putting its potential for profit ahead of its members' interests. It seems that whenever health care changes are debated, one party or the other seeks to undermine the organization's clout.
When President Obama picked Rep. John McHugh (R-NY) to be secretary of the Army, he set the stage for a fierce battle over McHugh's seat. The election is days away, and the Republican candidate is trailing. Some conservatives think she is too liberal, and are backing a third-party candidate.
President Obama goes to Virginia on Tuesday to stump for Democrat Creigh Deeds in the hard-fought governor's race. Less visibly, both national parties are shoveling money into Virginia, where state laws mandate disclosure but not contribution limits. But because of a loophole, money from the national parties can go unreported until after Election Day.
At a news conference Monday, a fake group announced that the U.S. Chamber of Commerce reversed course to endorse climate change legislation, an issue that has divided its membership. Chamber officials interrupted the meeting to expose the hoax. But in an announcement that wasn't fake, the chamber disclosed a dramatic jump in its lobbying activity.
The buzz around Washington is that Republican fundraising is picking up momentum, while Democrats wonder what happened to their money mojo from the presidential campaign. But a closer look at the numbers tells a different story.
There is almost a century's worth of natural gas in shale rock formations all over the county, enough to make a significant change in the debate about America's energy future. But as Congress moves toward writing a new national energy policy, natural gas lobbyists have been mostly missing in action.
Of the 100 congressional districts with the highest uninsured rates, 53 are represented either by Republicans — who are fighting Obama's attempt to overhaul health care — or by Blue Dogs — conservative Democrats who have slowed down and diluted overhaul proposals.
The Justice Department says it will conduct a "preliminary review" of possible criminal cases stemming from CIA interrogations of terrorism suspects. But the ACLU — which has waged a five-year legal battle pushing for such a probe — wants the DOJ to go farther.
The federal jury that found former Louisiana Rep. William Jefferson guilty of bribery and racketeering convicted him on 11 of 16 charges — a less-than-complete victory for a Justice Department that had video of Jefferson accepting bribes and photos of $90,000 found in his freezer.
Former Louisiana Congressman William Jefferson was found guilty Wednesday of taking bribes. A federal jury convicted the Democrat on 11 of 16 counts in a case in which agents found $90,000 in his freezer.
Many industry executives joined President Obama in May for a show of unity on cutting health care costs. But they are also spending millions of dollars to push their own agendas in Congress, as lawmakers wrestle with the details of a health care overhaul.
During three critical months in the debate to overhaul health care, a powerful drugmaker consortium known as PhRMA and its members spent more than $3 million each week lobbying Congress. In the past, PhRMA has won most of its lobbying battles.
