Tim Roemer, former Indiana congressman and ambassador to India, has a simple question: are you feeling the pain? Even if you think you aren’t, the situation on Capitol Hill ensures we’re all feeling duped by our politicians. Because of money in politics and the skyrocketing cost of campaigns, our elected officials are forced to spend almost half their time fundraising
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12 national groups, including Issue One, have endorsed the 21st Century Democracy Agenda, a comprehensive policy platform to reduce the influence of money in politics and ensure that everyone has a voice in our democracy. The Agenda will leverage the 2016 elections to advance a national dialogue about this issue, and explicitly lay out the policies and actions the next president
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We’ve entered the dog days of summer, but around the country, states and municipalities are working toward reducing the influence of money in politics. In this post, we highlight some of the innovative reforms being made nationwide. For more state-level action, check out last month’s entry, and this comprehensive list from Politico. The Tempe, Arizona City Council will reportedly discuss
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Today, the bipartisan political reform group Issue One is announcing Ambassador Tim Roemer—who served six terms in the U.S. House of Representatives and was an instrumental member of the 9/11 Commission—has joined as Senior Strategic Adviser for Issue One’s new ReFormers Caucus. The ReFormers Caucus includes more than 60 Republican and Democratic former members of Congress and governors whose goal
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It’s July, which means two things in DC: humidity and campaign fundraising disclosure. As PACs and candidates like Bernie Sanders and Ted Cruz release their second quarter figures, observers can gauge how the field is shaping up at this early stage. For candidates at the top, this deadline serves as a prime opportunity for muscle-flexing – showing dominance to potential
Read MoreCheck out this great video infographic from the New York Times about how candidates and Super PACs get around anti-coordination laws. What’s the solution to this blatant rulebreaking? For starters, the Federal Election Commission could start enforcing the law. You can read more here. Video: The Age of Super PACs
Read MoreSome great news came out of the courts Tuesday, as the DC Court of Appeals upheld a law barring federal contractors from making contributions in federal elections. The ban, which has been in place since 1940, is designed to prevent a pay-to-play system by which companies can only receive contracts by donating to elected officials. Issue One supports these bans,
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The Internal Revenue Service is unlikely to take steps to shine a light on dark money spending in the run-up to the 2016 elections, the New York Times reports today. The result: millions of dollars flooding into politics from shadowy nonprofits that are not required to disclose their donors; said one expert, “it’s going to be pretty much open season.”
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Disclosure requirements are varied, complicated, and poorly enforced. That’s a problem, because where there is confusion, subversion and outright disregard for the law abounds. As campaign finance law has mutated and adapted to contemporary conditions, it fragmented, building the splintered disclosure apparatus we have today. Following reforms in the late 1970s, political parties became especially dominant within the campaign finance process. So-called
Read MoreCongress needs to act immediately to provide states with the emergency federal funding they need to run safe, secure and credible elections in November. The previous federal funding was an important down payment, but reports from state and local election officials indicate substantially more federal emergency assistance is needed as soon as possible. Issue One and many others are working to convince Senators to vote in July for more funding so that our November elections are safe, secure, and fair.
