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Jonathan Salant

covers campaign finance and lobbying in Washington. He was president of the National Press Club and started in Washington in 1987.

Ben Cohen, co-founder of Ben & Jerry's Ice Cream, holds up a one-dollar bill he stamped with the words "Not to be used for bribing politicians" as he advocates to get money out of politics, outside Union Station in Washington on June 18, 2013.

Photograph by Saul Loeb/AFP via Getty Images

Ben Cohen, co-founder of Ben & Jerry's Ice Cream, holds up a one-dollar bill he stamped with the words "Not to be used for bribing politicians" as he advocates to get money out of politics, outside Union Station in Washington on June 18, 2013.

Campaign Finance Advocates Push for Amendment with Ice Cream

Advocates of tightening campaign finance laws used a Senate press conference and the promise of free ice cream to call attention to their cause today. At the Capitol, Democratic Sens. Jon Tester of Montana and Tom Udall of Colorado announced...

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Demonstrators in favor of the Affordable Care Act stand outside the Supreme Court building in Washington, D.C.

Photograph by Andrew Harrer/Bloomberg

Demonstrators in favor of the Affordable Care Act stand outside the Supreme Court building in Washington, D.C.

Organizing for Health Care: $1 Million TV Ad-Buy from Obama-Backers

Organizing for Action, the nonprofit born out of President Barack Obama’s re-election campaign, announced today that it will run TV ads in support of the health care law that extends coverage to millions of uninsured Americans and is credited with...

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Senator John Thune, a Republican from South Dakota, speaks to a member of the media following a party caucus meeting in Washington, D.C.

Photograph by Pete Marovich/Bloomberg

Senator John Thune, a Republican from South Dakota, speaks to a member of the media following a party caucus meeting in Washington, D.C.

ATT, Verizon Fundraising for Thune in Spectrum Battle

They may be serving $11 Sugar Daddy Cocktails. But there are billions of dollars of bandwidth involved. Sen. John Thune, the top Republican on the Senate Commerce Committee, is in a key position to weigh in on government plans to...

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An undocumented immigrant poses for a portrait with the American and Mexican flags onMay 16, 2013 in Odessa, Texas.

Photograph by Edyta Blaszczyk/Odessa American/AP Photo

An undocumented immigrant poses for a portrait with the American and Mexican flags onMay 16, 2013 in Odessa, Texas.

Heritage Foundation: Immigration Bill Just an ‘Amnesty Proposal’

Under former Republican Sen. Jim DeMint, the Heritage Foundation  is wading into the debate over immigration through advocacy, not research. The think tank today announced it would spend up to $100,000 on an online advertising campaign against the bipartisan immigration bill now...

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People line up to vote on November 6, 2012 in Crawfordville, Florida.

Photograph by Mark Wallheiser/Getty Images

People line up to vote on November 6, 2012 in Crawfordville, Florida.

Voting Commission Should Shorten Lines, Democratic Senators Say

In advance of the first meeting of the Presidential Commission on Election Administration, four Democratic senators today said the group should address the long lines that beset many precincts on Election Day. Sens. Barbara Boxer of California, Chris Coons of...

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Morning commuters exit a subway turnstile in New York.

Photograph by Scott Eells/Bloomberg

Morning commuters exit a subway turnstile in New York.

Bloomberg By the Numbers: 77

Women earned 77 percent of what men did in 2011 for the same job, according to Bureau of Labor Statistics cited by the Institute for Women’s Policy Research, a Washington-based research group. The figures for the most recent year available were cited as...

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A Chinese immigrant is fingerprinted during her "biometrics" appointment to receive a green card at the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) Queens office on May 30, 2013 in the Long Island City neighborhood of the Queens borough of New York City.

Photograph by John Moore/Getty Images

A Chinese immigrant is fingerprinted during her "biometrics" appointment to receive a green card at the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) Queens office on May 30, 2013 in the Long Island City neighborhood of the Queens borough of New York City.

Crossroads GPS, $100,000 on Immigration: Bill Needs ‘Makeover’

Crossroads Grassroots Policy Strategies, the nonprofit founded with the help of Republican strategist Karl Rove, is spending $100,000 on print ads to get its points across while the Senate debates immigration legislation. Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, former Minnesota Sen. Norm Coleman, chairman of the...

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People walk by a Verizon advertisement on June 7, 2013 in New York City.

Photograph by Spencer Platt/Getty Images

People walk by a Verizon advertisement on June 7, 2013 in New York City.

Manchin Challenges Obama on Surveillance

Senator Joe Manchin of West Virginia is breaking with a fellow Democrat, President Barack Obama, over the administration’s broad surveillance of telephone calls and Internet usage. “It bothers me, and I think it bothers you and every other American,” Manchin...

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House Committee Votes to Eliminate Public Financing for Campaigns

Following the first privately-funded election since Watergate, the House Administration Committee today voted to end public financing for presidential elections and the national political conventions. The committee also voted to end the Election Assistance Commission, which provides aid to states and...

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A sold sign on March 5, 2013 in Phoenix, Arizona.

Photograph by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

A sold sign on March 5, 2013 in Phoenix, Arizona.

Bloomberg By the Numbers: 3.81%

That was the rate for a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage in the week ending yesterday, up from 3.59 percent the preceding week and the highest  level in  a year.  That’s according to McLean, Virginia-based Freddie Mac. Rates for 15-year mortgages also rose, to 2.98 percent from...

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