WASHINGTON (May 27, 2020) – The Fulcrum, a nonprofit news platform covering the democracy reform movement, announces today the addition of a new financial supporter, Craig Newmark Philanthropies. The Fulcrum, which launched in June 2019, is staffed by award-winning journalists who report on the efforts to make our democratic republic less tribal, our elections more competitive, our politicians less beholden
Read MoreIn the wake of the news that the Treasury Department and IRS this week implemented a rules change that allows many 501(c) organizations — including politically active dark money groups organized under Secs. 501(c)(4) and 501(c)(6) of the tax code — to keep their donors secret, Issue One Executive Director Meredith McGehee issued the following statement: “It is both disappointing
Read MoreIssue One is pleased to announce that attorney Linda Willard and business executive Peter Staple have joined its board of directors. “Linda Willard and Peter Staple are passionate about political reform and will bring new experiences and ideas to our board of directors as we seek to unite Democrats, Republicans, and independents to fix our broken political system at this
Read MoreLast week, Reps. Katie Porter (D-CA) and Dan Crenshaw (R-TX) introduced a bill to begin cracking down on so-called “scam PACs.” These political action committees mislead their donors by falsely claiming to support a campaign, cause, or charity while spending little if any of their money for its stated purpose — instead using it to enrich the political operatives behind
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Despite the public health and economic crises spawned by the coronavirus pandemic, money continues to pour into the 2020 presidential race, according to new campaign finance reports filed with the Federal Election Commission. Here are some of the most vital numbers to know from these new campaign finance filings, which detail the money presidential candidates raised and spent in April:
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Today, in an open letter to Congress published in USA Today, a bipartisan group of 110 former members of Congress, governors, and Cabinet secretaries who are all part of Issue One’s ReFormers Caucus urged current lawmakers to embrace institutional reforms in the wake of the public health and economic crises spurred by the coronavirus pandemic. “We hope that leaders in
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Issue One Executive Director Meredith McGehee issued the following statement in the wake of the Senate’s confirmation of Texas attorney Trey Trainor to serve on the Federal Election Commission, which ends the longest period in the agency’s history without the quorum necessary for it to do its job — nearly nine months. “We hope that Trey Trainor will faithfully uphold
Read MoreIssue One Executive Director Meredith McGehee warned that Texas lawyer Trey Trainor is the wrong choice to serve as a commissioner on the Federal Election Commission ahead of the Senate’s expected vote today on his nomination: “Trey Trainor is the wrong choice to serve on the Federal Election Commission. Reopening the FEC with a commissioner who does not think we
Read MoreThe COVID-19 pandemic has brought unprecedented challenges for leaders around the world. Yet, the U.S. Congress currently lacks a clear emergency preparedness plan for maintaining its operations during this crisis. Yesterday, groups from across the political spectrum, including the Bipartisan Policy Center, College to Congress, Demand Progress, Democracy Fund Voice, Issue One, R Street Institute, POPVOX CEO Marci Harris, and
Read More“[T]his episode is a little different because it’s about part of the swamp changing for the better, a truly positive development amid plenty of dysfunction. It’s a story of bipartisan cooperation that is increasingly rare these days.” On this week’s episode of Issue One’s “Swamp Stories” podcast, host Weston Wamp walks us through the origin story of one of the
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