As President Trump and the White House prepare to convene the National Security Council to discuss election security, Issue One CEO Nick Penniman issued the following statement: “Election security should include efforts to increase transparency in our political system. The Honest Ads Act, which would do just that for online political advertising, is waiting for more leadership and attention. We
Read MoreAll week, transparency advocates around the country, including Issue One, have been observing Sunshine Week — an annual affair that honors open government and the public’s right to access information. One easy way that Congress could commemorate Sunshine Week this year would be to pass the Senate Campaign Disclosure Parity Act (S. 298) — a bipartisan bill that would not
Read MoreOn Wednesday, Representatives Derek Kilmer (D-WA) and Ken Buck (R-CO) and 12 other lawmakers of both parties are calling on President Donald Trump to immediately recommend nominees to fill vacancies on the Federal Election Commission (FEC). “President Trump has an opportunity to practice what he preached during his campaign — to be the outsider who doesn’t continue this inside-the-beltway game-playing
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A new report from Issue One called “The Ethics Blind Spot” details how in at least 175 public and confidential ethics investigations over the past decade, the House Ethics Committee has compiled a record that fails to foster a culture of high ethical standards in Congress. The Committee’s tepid interpretations of ethics rules and timid approach to enforcement undermines public
Read MoreToday, Issue One submitted a letter opposing a provision slipped into a government funding bill (FY2018 Financial Services and General Government Appropriations Bill) that would weaken rules limiting coordination between political parties and candidates. “This provision is a backdoor attempt that would allow more access and influence for deep-pocketed donors at a time when the American people are already frustrated
Read MoreUpdate, January 8, 2018: Reps. Kurt Schrader (D-OR) and David Young (R-IA) both cosponsored the Honest Ads Act. This brings the total number of sponsors of the bill to 16. Today, New Jersey Republican Rep. Leonard Lance and Maryland Democratic Rep. John Sarbanes joined in sponsoring the bipartisan, bicameral legislation to begin protecting U.S. politics from foreign interference. This brings the
Read MoreToday, eight House lawmakers — four Republicans and four Democrats — signed on to sponsor the Honest Ads Act (H.R. 4077), the best first step to combat the problem of hidden foreign disinformation campaigns targeted at the United States by implementing a disclosure system for paid, online political advertising. “At a time when Americans are questioning whether Congress has the
Read MoreToday, Issue One filed comments with the Federal Election Commission (FEC) urging the agency to update its disclaimer regulations to better address the reality of modern day campaigning, online political advertising and foreign interference in U.S. politics. As Issue One noted in its comments: “At a time when malicious foreign actors are intent on hijacking the avenues Americans use to
Read MoreA disturbing trend has emerged in our elections: Fewer and fewer races are truly competitive, but the ones that are see a surge of spending by outside groups. As a result of the U.S. Supreme Court’s Citizens United decision and a related lower court ruling, outside groups are increasingly outspending candidates’ own campaigns, according to a new Issue One analysis
Read MoreThis op-ed by fmr. Gov. Thomas Kean (R-NJ) and fmr. Rep. Tim Roemer (D-IN) originally appeared in The Hill. – This month, Americans should pause a moment to reflect: It has been 16 years since the devastating and tragic attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, and in the 16 years since, there has not been another successful major terrorist attack on our
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