This letter to the editor originally appeared in the Washington Post. It is in response to an earlier article about two catfish inspection offices in the federal government. The June 14 Food article “Has Congress given blue catfish a free pass?” reminded us that when money is the bait, Washington cannot help but go on a fishing expedition in search of
Read MoreAhead of tonight’s Congressional Baseball Game, which has a bipartisan history dating back more than 100 years, Issue One’s ReFormers Caucus delivered a message of unity to Capitol Hill. Today, Republicans and Democrats will play on the same field for the love of our great American game. Issue One’s ReFormers Caucus is calling both parties to take that same spirit of cooperation
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Issue One welcomes former Democratic New York Representative Steve Israel to our ReFormers Caucus, the largest coalition of its kind: 181 former members of Congress and governors dedicated to returning government to the American people. “Steve Israel stands as a prime example of how the fundraising-first culture drives good public servants from office,” said Issue One Executive Director Nick Penniman.
Read MoreWhat, exactly, is the price of power in Washington for some of the most influential lawmakers on Capitol Hill? That’s the question Issue One’s new report seeks to answer, for readers and tens of millions of viewers around the country. Issue One Executive Director Nick Penniman and ReFormers Caucus Co-chair Rep. Zach Wamp (R-TN) interviewed on “Full Measure with
Read MoreA new report from Issue One called “The Price of Power” details how the chairs and ranking members of the most influential committees in the U.S. House of Representatives are increasingly being pressured by party leadership to funnel significant portions of the funds they raise back to the National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC) and Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) under the current
Read MoreIn the aftermath of the Watergate scandal involving President Richard Nixon, Congress established the Office of Government Ethics (OGE) in 1978 to provide oversight of the executive branch and prevent — and resolve — conflicts of interest. The agency was eventually made independent in 1989 and currently oversees ethics standards for 2.7 million civilian employees in more than 130 executive agencies and the
Read MoreIssue One is excited to welcome former Representatives Lee Terry (R-NE), Todd Tiahrt (R-KS) and Dan Lungren (R-CA) to the ReFormers Caucus — a group comprised of nearly 180 former members of Congress, governors, ambassadors and cabinet secretaries from both parties assembled on behalf of government ethics and political reform. Representative Lee Terry served Nebraska’s 2nd District — one of
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Issue One’s Chief of Policy, Programs and Strategy Meredith McGehee has been working on government ethics-related issues in Washington for decades. Roll Call just named McGehee one of the Rising Stars of Advocacy on Capitol Hill. The paper defines the Rising Stars as “people who now wield power and influence in a Washington that has been turned upside down
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Issue One Chief of Policy Meredith McGehee’s response to reports of the White House refusing to publicly release its visitor logs: “What an unfortunate and ill-judged decision by the White House. From dismissing decades of tradition by declining to release his tax returns to refusing to place his assets in a blind trust, President Trump seems to be going out of his
Read MoreIssue One is pleased to welcome three prominent new members to its Board of Directors: Sec. Tom Ridge, Sec. Dan Glickman and Lt. Gov. Kerry Healey. “Secretary Tom Ridge, Secretary Dan Glickman and Lieutenant Governor Kerry Healey are exactly the kind of principled leaders we need more of in our government today and we could not be happier that they
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