| The Center for Public Integrity From the Center's Executive Director |  Henry Foreclosures continue to soar, but the federal money that is supposed to help stem that financial wrecking ball is going to many of the same entities that produced the sub-prime mortgage debacle in the first place. And, not that many homeowners have actually been helped. That’s the conclusion of the Center for Public Integrity’s latest report in our series, Who’s Behind the Financial Meltdown? As the battle for better financial regulation heats up on Capitol Hill, the Center is continuing its investigative coverage of the corporate connections and contracts caught up in our current economic crisis. Earlier this month, through a new partnership with the Associated Press, the Center began providing this latest report and other in-depth investigative content to hundreds of media organizations and millions more news consumers via the AP Exchange service. And just in time. We also released a follow-up to our Climate Change Lobby investigation — an analysis of newly disclosed lobbying records showing more than 1,150 business and advocacy groups are now lobbying on the climate change legislation that passed the House on June 26 and is under consideration in the Senate. There are now about five lobbyists per each member of Congress on this single issue. Next up in September will be a project on the transportation lobby. This series of special reports will introduce you to the key players and the behind-the-scenes politics that directs billions of dollars in federal funding to road, bridge and rail projects across the country. We’ll even provide an interactive map, so you can see who is lobbying for the construction contracts in your area. I strongly believe that transparency and accountability projects like these help us all understand better how money and connections fuel—and sometimes hijack—the legislative process. Thanks for all you do, 
Bill Buzenberg
Executive Director | Top Investigation |  You Broke It, You Fix It? Almost two dozen firms that fed off the subprime lending frenzy that devastated the banking system are set to receive billions in taxpayer dollars through a government program designed to stem foreclosures. According to a Center for Public Integrity analysis of public records, of the top 25 participants in the Home Affordable Modification Program (HAMP), at least 21 were heavily involved in the subprime lending industry. The majority specialized in servicing subprime loans, but several firms both serviced and originated the loans. The list of subprime lenders participating in HAMP are slated to receive more than $21 billion in taxpayer funded incentives and reads like a who’s who of major subprime lenders and loan servicers, including financial institutions that have already received hundreds of billions of dollars from the federal government’s primary bank bailout program. Read the full story. | | |  | | | Latest from the Center |  More than 460 new businesses and interest groups jumped into lobbying on global warming in the 12 weeks leading up to the House vote on the Waxman-Markey bill -- showing a 30 percent increase in lobbying from the first quarter. Bringing the total to 1,150 groups lobbying on the issue, the power of these groups became a formidable force for the Senate to contemplate. Read the full story. | |  | | |  | August 20, 2009, 2:05 pm By Aaron Mehta 
Though the past six months have been financially beneficial to the Blue Dog Coalition, it appears that the Dogs’ fundraising intake has slowed, despite all the attention the coalition has received. 
|    | Center in the News | |
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Keep a civil tongue.