Earlier this week, the bipartisan Select Committee on the Modernization of Congress (or modernizing committee for short) held its first public hearing that solicited testimony from sitting members of Congress. Committee Chair Rep. Derek Kilmer (D-WA), Vice Chair Rep. Tom Graves (R-GA), and other members of the committee heard proposals from 35 of their Republican and Democratic House colleagues about
Read MoreRepublican Rep. John Katko (NY-24) co-sponsored bipartisan legislation that ensures the public knows who is trying to influence their vote in elections and prevents lawmakers from abusing leadership PAC funds. “Everyone has a right to know who’s spending money to influence elections. We are heartened to see Representative Katko be a part of meaningful bipartisan reform efforts in the House
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Last week, Representatives Derek Kilmer (D-WA), Brian Fitzpatrick (R-PA), Scott Peters (D-CA), John Sarbanes (D-MD), Kathleen Rice (D-NY), Stephanie Murphy (D-FL), and Julia Brownley (D-CA) re-introduced bipartisan legislation to overhaul the dysfunctional Federal Election Commission (FEC) and to ensure effective and consistent enforcement of the nation’s election laws. The Restoring Integrity to America’s Elections Act (H.R. 1272) makes structural changes
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Thursday, Representatives Kathleen Rice (D-NY), Mike Gallagher (R-WI), and Derek Kilmer (D-WA) — three co-chairs of the Congressional Reformers Caucus — reintroduced the Political Accountability and Transparency Act (H.R. 679). The bipartisan legislation lays a solid foundation for ensuring the public knows who is trying to influence their vote in elections and preventing lawmakers from abusing leadership PAC funds. “It’s
Read MoreLast week, House Democrats introduced the most robust package of democracy reforms proposed in a generation as their lead priority for the 116th Congress. It is an incredibly heartening and hopeful sign for all of us concerned about the weakening of democracy at home and rapid rise of authoritarianism abroad. But we need more than good policy ideas at this
Read MoreIssue One CEO Nick Penniman released the following statement: A significant sign that change is coming to Washington is that one of the largest political juggernauts in the country — the U.S. Chamber of Commerce — is revising its decades-old Congressional scorecard to account for how bipartisan members of Congress are in their legislative work. The Chamber recognizes that dysfunction
Read MoreIssue One – in partnership with the Rebuild Congress Initiative – has been aggressively pushing for the creation of the Select Committee on the Modernization of Congress that was just passed with overwhelming bipartisan support from 418 Republicans and Democrats who all acknowledge that the legislative branch needs to be brought into the 21st century. “The House Democratic leadership should
Read MoreToday, Issue One announced the creation of The Firewall, the only digital news publication dedicated exclusively to covering political reform issues and efforts at the local, state and national levels. Veteran CQ Roll Call editors David Hawkings and David Meyers will lead the publication as it builds out a reporting team and kicks off coverage ahead of its formal launch
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Today, Representatives Kathleen Rice (D-NY), Mike Gallagher (R-WI), and Derek Kilmer (D-WA) introduced the Political Accountability and Transparency Act (PATA) to ensure the public knows who is trying to influence their vote in elections and to prevent lawmakers from abusing leadership PAC funds. These three lawmakers are also co-chairs of the Congressional Reformers Caucus. “These lawmakers are demonstrating that Republicans
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Systemic institutional dysfunction was a leading cause for more than 50 Republican and Democratic members of Congress who voluntarily did not seek re-election this year, according to a new joint report by Issue One and the R Street Institute. Interviews with a select group of over half a dozen outgoing and recently-retired lawmakers who were vocal about why they chose
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