Corrections

Correction, March 29, 2010: This post has been corrected to remove language calling the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency a “little known bank regulator.”

Correction, March 25, 2010: This piece originally misstated the Treasury official’s estimate of how many homeowners will convert from trial to permanent mods. It said that “Treasury thinks that somewhere between 50 and 66 percent of homeowners in trial mods will fall out,” when the official said that between 50 and 66 percent of those homeowners will convert to a permanent mod.

Correction, March 24, 2010: This post originally identified Sen. Mitch McConnell as the Senate majority leader. He is, in fact, the Senate Republican leader.

Correction, Feb. 22, 2010: This post originally said that John Morgan was a subcontractor for Swamp Angel Energy.He should have been identified as the site supervisor. The story also implied that the Swamp Angel well was drilled into the Marcellus Shale. Although the well is located in the Marcellus Shale area, the story should have said that it was drilled into a different geologic formation.

Correction, Feb. 17, 2010: This post originally said that another $333 billion in stimulus funds is in the pipeline to be spent. That figure actually refers to stimulus funds that have been obligated. The amount of money in the pipeline — that is, obligated but not spent — is some $150 billion.

Correction, Feb. 8, 2010: On Feb. 8, 2010, the Transparency Tracker incorrectly reported posting dates later than the actual posting dates of the open sites at the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, Department of Veterans Affairs, Department of the Treasury, Department of the Interior, and the Department of Housing and Urban Development due to a programming error.

Correction, Feb. 7, 2010: The original version of this story incorrectly stated that the al-Marri decision in the Court of Appeals still stands. In fact, the Supreme Court vacated the decision, thus depriving it of value as a legal precedent.

Correction, Feb. 3, 2010: This post originally said Puerto Rico Resident Commissioner Pedro Pierluisi was stepping up his lobbying efforts. It should have said that Puerto Rico Gov. Luis Fortuño was stepping up his lobbying efforts.

The post also said that Diageo spent $2.25 million on in-house lobbyists and $770,000 on lobbyists from DLA Piper. It should have said that Diageo spent a total of $2.25 million on lobbying activities in 2009, including $770,000 to DLA Piper.

Correction, Jan. 26, 2010: This post originally said that Rep. John Conyers’ PAC is called “Moving America Forward.” The correct name of Conyers’ PAC is “America Forward Leadership PAC.

Correction, Dec. 16, 2009: An earlier version of this article reported that the Department of Education was projecting that 47 percent of the federal money lent to students at for-profit education institutions in 2007 would never be repaid. We also said that the department had estimated that 40 percent of the money lent to students at for-profit institutions between 2003 and 2006 would be written off. Those statements—a main thrust of the article—are not accurate. Read our note detailing the error.

Correction, Dec. 7, 2009: The headline on this story previously said that a study Sen. Feinstein supports is “helping slow down” a fish protection plan. In fact, the plan is already in place. While the study may delay it, it hasn’t yet done so.

Correction, Dec. 5, 2009: Due to poor math by an editor, the headline on this story previously stated that Friday’s bank failures will cost the FDIC $2.6 billion. The failures are actually projected to cost the agency about $2.4 billion.

Correction, Nov. 4, 2009: This post originally said that the White House had released a report on stimulus jobs. In fact, the report was released by the Recovery Accountability and Transparency Board, which is an independent government board created by stimulus package. The chairman, Earl Devaney, was appointed by the president.

Correction, Nov. 3, 2009: This post originally stated that the graduation rate of students undertaking associate degrees at the university is 37 percent. In fact, the rate is 27 percent.

Correction, Oct. 28, 2009: This post originally indicated that if veterans did not sign up within five years of discharge, they would not qualify for Veterans health care. In fact, if a veteran qualifies under the VA’s enrollment specifications, they can qualify for care, regardless of how much time has passed since discharge. This articles also originally indicated that if you are low-income, have children or are disabled, you typically qualify for Medicaid. In fact, having children is not, on its own, a way to qualify for Medicaid.

Correction, Oct. 20, 2009: This post originally stated lawmakers and aides crafted the Medicare Part D plan four years ago. It should have said six years ago. This article also said that Billy Tauzin was a former senator in the 29th graph. He was actually a former representative.

Correction, Sept. 22, 2009: This post originally stated the Justice Department opened an investigation and the Illinois Department of Children and Families froze admissions of foster children to Riveredge Hospital near Chicago in response to investigations by the Chicago Tribune and ProPublica. It should have said those actions were initiated following the Tribune reports.

Correction, Sept. 21, 2009: This story has been updated. A description of the spill provided in the story by Vincent Fronda actually referred to a Sept. 3 discharge near the Cabot well site in question. It was several hundred feet away and separate from the fracturing fluid spill that occurred last Wednesday. The photograph that accompanied the story, which was sent to ProPublica by a Dimock resident, was also of that earlier spill. Both the photo and the descriptive passage have been removed.

Correction, Sept. 11, 2009: This post originally placed Charlotte, N.C., in the wrong Carolina.

Correction, Sept. 9, 2009: This post originally stated that the study by insurance broker Aon Corp. was released Wednesday, Sept. 9. It was actually released on Friday, Sept. 4, 2009. It also stated that the study was an anonymous survey involving 18 anonymous defense contractors. It was actually an internal review of 18 defense contractors who were charged higher rates for workers compensation insurance in Iraq and Afghanistan than for comparable workers hired in other foreign countries.

The original post also misspelled the last name of Sen. Bernie Sanders.

Correction, Aug. 18, 2009: Due to a data entry error, the Foreign Lobbying Influence Tracker contained duplicate entries for fees paid to the Livingston Group by some its clients. The Sunlight Foundation has eliminated the duplicate records, and we have updated related totals in stories and charts about the database.

Correction, Aug. 7, 2009: This post originally stated that five people were wounded during the Danziger Bridge incident. In fact, it was four people.

Correction, Aug. 5, 2009: This post inadvertently implied that stimulus spending on tax cuts, increases in unemployment compensation and Medicaid funding were not intended to create or sustain a substantial number of jobs. The article should have made the distinction between “direct” jobs, such as those created by infrastructure funding, and “indirect” jobs. Tax cuts and spending on government benefits do lead to indirect job creation as they contribute to demand for goods and services.

Correction, July 27, 2009: This article originally misstated charges from the state’s complaint against the Center for AIDS Prevention, saying the charity never maintained an office at 4750 N. Broadway in Chicago. The complaint said the charity did not have an office there from at least November 2007 until the filing of the charges.

Correction, July 19, 2009: This post originally said ProPublica is looking at a random sample of about 500 bridge construction projects nationwide. We’re actually looking at a sample of about 500 road and bridge projects.

Correction, July 17, 2009: This post originally stated the basic cost of widening I-405 as $739,014. It’s actually $739,014,000.

Correction, July 14, 2009: A caption on this page previously suggested 9/11 Commission chairman Thomas Kean said the Whitehouse.gov’s deletion of the reference to the Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board was “extremely disappointing.” In fact, Kean was referring to administration’s overall lack of progress staffing the board.

Correction, July 13, 2009: This story incorrectly referred to former Board of Registered Nursing vice president Elizabeth O. Dietz as a professor of nursing at San Jose State. Although the board’s web site lists that as her current affiliation, the university said she retired in July 2008.

Correction, July 10, 2009: An earlier version of this story incorrectly stated that ACORN Housing organized the campaign against four non-participants. It was actually ACORN, the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now.

Correction, July 9, 2009: An earlier version of this post incorrectly cited the Philadelphia Enquirer. In fact, the newspaper is called the Philadelphia Inquirer.

Correction, July 8, 2009: An earlier version of this post inaccurately stated that the deadline for states to begin audits of their stimulus spending is at least six months after the end of the fiscal year. In fact, the deadline is nine months after the end of the fiscal year.

Correction, June 30, 2009: This story inaccurately said that Rep. Maxine Waters arranged a meeting between regulators and OneUnited of Massachusetts. She actually arranged a meeting between regulators and the National Bankers Association, whose chairman was the general counsel of OneUnited. A person at the meeting said the discussion focused on OneUnited.

Correction, June 23, 2009: This post originally stated that the Picower foundation gave out a little under $207 million in donations from 1995 to 2008. The foundation actually doled out more than $235 million in donations. Due to technical problems in the editing process, this number was incorrect.

Correction, June 16, 2009,: This post originally misstated the name of the BARR Program as “Blocked Aircraft Registration Request.” BARR stands for “Block Aircraft Registration Request.”

Correction, June 12, 2009: This post originally stated that Associated General Contractors represents 7 million workers. AGC represents construction companies whose workforce numbers about 7 million; it does not represent those workers.

Correction, May 20, 2009: This post originally stated the PBGC’s deficit as $35 billion. It is $33.5 billion.

Correction, April 30, 2009: This post mistakenly stated that the California State Teachers’ Retirement System had moved to limit campaign contributions to members of its oversight board but had been thwarted in a legal challenge. We should have said it was the California Public Employees Retirement System that attempted to limit contributions.

Correction, April 30, 2009: This post originally said that Markstone Capital Group was named in an indictment by New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo regarding fraud in the public pension system. In fact, Markstone was not named in that indictment. Rather, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission sent a letter to Markstone’s founder, Elliott Broidy, as part of the commission’s inquiry into public pension funds. The letter requested financial information relating to Broidy’s time as a commissioner on the Los Angeles Fire and Police Pension fund. In particular, the letter requested details of Broidy’s communications with two firms named in the Cuomo indictment, Aldus Equity and placement agent DAV/Wetherly Financial. Broidy resigned from the LA pension board after the SEC’s inquiry was publicly disclosed.

Correction, April 9, 2009: This post originally stated that AIG “ditched plans” to sell two of its insurance subsidiaries, Alico and AIA. In fact, AIG says selling the companies is still an option in its effort to repay federal bailout loans. The company’s plans did change insofar as AIG gave the Federal Reserve Bank ownership interest in the two subsidiaries in return for a $26 billion reduction in the amount owed to the Fed. The company is now considering a wider ranch of options than simply selling the subsidiaries. The original post also stated that the transaction resulted in an additional loan to AIG. In fact, the additional $30 billion lending facility, announced on the same day, came from the Treasury, not the Fed. AIG has not yet tapped that line of credit, according to spokeswoman Christina Pretto.

Correction, March 12, 2009: The original caption for the photo misstated Mr. Metcalfe’s name. This article also originally stated former Justice Dept. FOIA official Dan Metcalfe was a “Reagan appointee.”In fact, he was appointed to head the Office of Information and Privacy during the Reagan administration but was already working at the Justice Department.

Correction, Feb. 13, 2009: This post originally identified the subject of the Mother Jones article as Sen. Byron Dorgan. It was actually former Sen. Richard Bryan.

Correction, Feb. 12, 2009: The feature originally referred to a branch of the Inter-American Developoment Bank as the Office of Review and Evaluation. The branch, which oversaw a report on the bank’s losses, is actually named the Office of Oversight and Evaluation.

Correction, Jan. 7, 2009: This post originally identified Louis Fisher as the Congressional Research Service’s expert on separation of powers. He is actually an expert on separation of powers with the Law Library of Congress.

Correction, Dec. 24, 2008: This story originally stated one air marshal was convicted of felony injury to a child. The air marshal, Louie Esparza, pleaded guilty to the charge, but the judge withheld judgment pending completion of the probation.

Correction, Dec. 21, 2008: This post originally stated that the Bureau of Land Management had auctioned off 359,000 acres of land for natural gas drilling near Moab Utah. In fact, as a result of protests over that lease sale, the BLM made a last minute change to the total amount and auctioned 148,598 acres of land on Dec. 19, 2008. This story also refers to a study comparing real pollution at 25 mines to that anticipated by the EPA. That study was commissioned by Earthworks, not the Environmental Working Group, and was authored by James Kuipers and Ann Maest.

Correction, Dec. 18, 2008: This article originally stated that Clinton had not yet identified donors to the Clinton Presidential Library. In fact, Clinton Foundation funded the library, and its donors are represented in the list made public Dec. 18.

Correction, Dec. 11, 2008: This post included an update originally stating that the University of Missouri recently won a $500,000 contract to train Alhurra reporters. In fact, Alhurra’s overall budget for journalism training in 2009 is $500,000. University of Missouri associate professor Kent S. Collins said he was paid a total of $26,600 to train Alhurra reporters. While the Broadcasting Board of Governors has referred to Collin’s report on Alhurra as a University of Missouri study, Collins said his work was done on a private basis and is not connected to the university or its journalism program.

Correction, Nov. 20, 2008: This post originally stated that Sen. Ted Stevens has served in the Senate for 50 years. He has served for 40 years.

Correction, Nov. 13, 2008: This article previously stated that Theo Colborn collected and tested water and soil samples. Rather, she did not do that work herself but compiled such information from other organizations and agencies that did.

Correction, Nov. 3, 2008: This post originally stated that deaths resulting from asbestosis in Libby, Montana were 40-80 percent higher than expected, according to a CDC study. In fact, the study found the deaths were 40 to 80 times higher.