User:Samzief

Samuel E. Zief is an intern at the Sunlight Foundation. He works closely with Congresspedia.org and Sunlight's Punchclock Campaign in an effort to foster transparency in Washington through citizen access and participation.

Zief graduated Cum Laude from the George Washington University with a B.S. in Political Science and a 3.79 GPA in his area of concentration, international conflict and security. He is also a contracted freelance journalist with one of New Jersey's leading weekly newspapers, The Montclair Times.

Some of his articles include:


 * "Rebuilding New Orleans," January 10, 2007.
 * "Supplying the bottom line: Local online baby supplier taps into cyber-niche," October 10, 2007.
 * "After bloom season, work continues at Presby Memorial Gardens," September 5, 2007.
 * "Montclair logo’s monument is a testament to community," August 17, 2005.

Archived headlines on Congresspedia

 * Following his indictment, and in keeping with party rules, Sen. Ted Stevens (R-Alaska) stepped down as the top Republican on the Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee; the Defense Appropriations Subcommittee; and the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Subcommittee on Disaster Recovery.
 * On July 9, Sen. Edward Kennedy (D-Mass.) returned to the Senate floor to break an impasse on the contentious Medicare Improvements for Patients and Providers Act of 2008. After Democrats won a crucial procedural vote, the Senate cleared the bill, 69-30. It was a wide enough margin to override a threatened veto of the bill, with votes to spare.
 * Former North Carolina Sen. Jesse Helms (R) died Friday, July 4th in Raleigh, North Carolina. He was 86.
 * Francis “Frank” Powers, 67, the millionaire endorsed by Republican leaders as their candidate for the New York congressional seat being vacated by Rep. Vito Fossella (R-N.Y.), died Sunday in his sleep of natural causes.
 * As his legal troubles mounted last year, Rep. William Jefferson (D-La.) began to pay off a loan to an executive of a Maryland-based global satellite company who was cooperating with prosecutors and could potentially testify against him.
 * In two May 3rd congressional special elections in Louisiana, Steve Scalise (R) defeated Democrat Gilda Reed, keeping former Rep. Bobby Jindal’s 1st congressional district seat in Republican hands, while state Rep. Don Cazayoux (D) narrowly defeated Republican Woody Jenkins for the long-time Republican-held 6th Congressional District seat.
 * Ending months of speculation, Mike Enzi (R-Wyo.) finally announced on April 26 that he would run for a third Senate term.
 * Sen. Pete Domenici was admonished by the Senate Ethics Committee for “inappropriately” contacting in 2006 one of the nine U.S. attorneys later fired by President Bush.
 * The Senate voted on Thursday to direct the Department of Justice to investigate the controversial Coconut Road earmark connected to Rep.  Don Young (R-Alaska).
 * A federal judge ordered Rep. Jim McDermott (D-Wa.) to pay over $1 million in legal fees to House Minority leader John Boehner (R-Oh.), settling the two lawmakers' decade-long legal dispute over McDermott's actions in leaking the contents of an intercepted 1996 conference call involving Boehner and other Republican leaders.
 * The House Ethics Committee voted to empanel an investigative subcommittee to review whether Rep. Rick Renzi (R-Ariz.) violated the chamber’s code of conduct in connection to his recent indictment on 35 counts of extortion, money laundering and conspiracy.
 * Sen. Ted Stevens (R-Alaska) filed for reelection on February 21, despite suggestions that a federal investigation into his congressional dealings might force the 84-year old into retirement.
 * James Michael McHaney, a former aide to Sen. Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.), pleaded guilty to one count of possession of child pornography.
 * New documents emerged showing that a $1.6 million earmark in 2005 by Sen. Ted Stevens (R–Alaska) was engineered so it would lead to the purchase of property owned by his former aide, Trevor McCabe, an Anchorage fisheries lobbyist.
 * Rep. William Jefferson testified in court for the first time in the wide-ranging corruption case against him in an attempt to suppress evidence.
 * According to a watchdog, Rep. William Jefferson (D-La.) violated House ethics rules in failing to report three trips to Botswana aimed at convincing him to oppose limits on “blood diamond” imports into the U.S.
 * The Department of Justice subpoenaed six current and former House aides to testify in next month’s trial of Rep. William Jefferson (D-La.).
 * In a last-minute decision, Rep. Ron Lewis (R-Ky.) announced that he would not seek re-election in the state’s 2nd District in 2008.
 * On January 31, President Bush signed a 15-day extension to the Protect America Act.