Japan will hold a general election this fall in the midst of persistent controversy over politics and money. But, as in past elections, it’s unlikely to be resolved as the government and politicians in question, including former ministers, are reluctant to talk about issues such as opaque money that may have influenced policy making.
If you were a Congressman in the early 1970s, you were probably scared of the late Rep. Wayne Hays (D-Ohio). You definitely hated him. His dominance in Congress has had lasting effects on how elections are monitored today.
Since its founding in 1974, the Federal Election Commission has long been regarded as an ineffective agency, garnering criticism as a “toothless tiger” or a “tightly leashed watchdog.”
Following the Watergate scandal, Congress introduced the Federal Election Commission (FEC) in an amendment to existing campaign finance regulations. An independent agency that would enforce campaign finance law, the FEC officially opened for business in April 1975.
In 1997, the Treasury and Government Appropriations Act mandated that FEC commissioners may serve a single six-year term, with no opportunity for reappointment. When a commissioner’s term expires, they may choose to continue serving in holdover status until they are replaced. Currently, three out of the six commissioners are in holdover status.
When transparency, regulation and accountability were mostly aspirational.
This story from the Investigative Reporting Workshop was produced in collaboration with Eye on Ohio, the nonprofit, nonpartisan Ohio Center for Journalism. Please join Eye on Ohio’s free mailing list as this helps us provide more public-service reporting. As Ohio grapples with the highest number of State Tested Nurse Aides (STNAs) shortages in the country …
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Despite removing bases and troops from Afghanistan, a huge U.S. military presence remains
Author David Vine and a team from Brown University’s Watson Institute examine the displacement caused by the United States’ post-9/11 wars. Includes August 2021 updates.
Read the full story about Maine nursing homes coping with staff shortages.
Two years after going live, TAP hits a major milestone.
Investigating Power is a history of breakthrough investigations that revealed news and changed the national narrative on many major topics since the 1950s, from war to health to civil rights.
An interactive timeline examines President Trump’s use of executive orders to restrict access to the U.S.
In April 2016, at the height of the deadliest drug epidemic in U.S. history, Congress effectively stripped the Drug Enforcement Administration of its most potent weapon against large drug companies suspected of spilling prescription narcotics onto the nation’s streets.
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