Jim DeFede
Last year, Congress held hearings on the H2B visa program and what they heard surprised even the most jaded among them.
"What we found is that there is a need for some very serious reform of this program," said Rep. Zoe Lofgren, a California Democrat who chairs the subcommittee that oversees the H2B visa program. "Everything from abuses in recruitment to abuses in what people are paid, in some cases even close to slavery situations."
Jonathan Allen and Alex Knott
More than 100 House members secured earmarks in a major spending bill for clients of a single lobbying firm - The PMA Group - known for its close ties to John P. Murtha, the congressman in charge of Pentagon appropriations.
"It shows you how good they were," said Keith Ashdown, chief investigator at the watchdog group Taxpayers for Common Sense. "The sheer coordination of that would take an army to finish."
Peter Overby
Morning Edition, February 19, 2009 • One of Washington's most successful lobbying firms is on the verge of closing down. In November, FBI agents seized documents from the Northern Virginia offices of The PMA Group. There are questions regarding campaign contributions and the firm's ties to House Democrats such as John Murtha of Pennsylvania.
Eun Kyung Kim
Sen. Bill Nelson plans to donate to charity the campaign contributions he received from donors under investigation for mishandling money, his office said Wednesday.
One of the donations the Florida Democrat received came from the company run by Robert Allen Stanford, accused this week by the Securities and Exchange Commission of defrauding investors of $8 billion.
Jessie Mangaliman
The one-story blue, red and white main post office building on Lundy Avenue in North San Jose was named Wednesday in honor of Gordon N. Chan, a respected community leader and agricultural pioneer who died in 2001.
Chan, the first Chinese-American president of the Santa Clara Farm Bureau, was a well-known mentor to many Asian-American community activists and politicians.
Henry Jackson
Three Democratic lawmakers said Wednesday they will return campaign contributions from donors tied to a Washington lobbying firm under investigation for funneling campaign contributions through sham donors.
Sen. Bill Nelson of Florida and Reps. Pete Visclosky of Indiana and Zoe Lofgren of California said they would return campaign cash linked to the PMA Group.
Eric Keith
Rep. Sam Graves has taken the congressional lead in pushing the U.S. Postal Service to continue its six-day mail delivery service.
While postal officials warn of huge operating losses resulting from declining mail volume and last year’s high gas prices, the Republican lawmaker called the current delivery schedule “an essential service.”
Kevin Bogardus and Roxana Tiron
The embattled defense lobbyist who led the FBI-raided PMA Group has entered into a Florida-based business with two associates whose political donations have come into question.
David Kirkpatrick
WASHINGTON — Three lawmakers said Tuesday that they were returning campaign contributions from donors listed as employees of the PMA Group, a Washington lobbying firm whose founder is under investigation for purportedly funneling money through bogus donors.
Carol D. Leonnig
Two members of Congress said yesterday that they will give back campaign donations listed as coming from employees of a major lobbying firm amid suspicions that the donors may not have worked there.
