The latest news from Issue One as we unite Republicans, Democrats, and independents in the movement to fix our broken political system.
Even before the coronavirus crisis upended the lives of millions of Americans and the operations of countless government agencies, the Federal Election Commission (FEC) was struggling. Today, in fact, marks the start of the ninth month since the nation’s campaign finance watchdog lost its ability to do its job due to the resignation of one commissioner in August. That resignation
Read MoreIn response to a report released by the Senate Intelligence Committee which unanimously found after a three-year review that Russia interfered in the 2016 elections, Issue One Executive Director Meredith McGehee released the following statement: “The Republican-led Senate Intelligence Committee has confirmed what the intelligence community and democracy advocates have been saying all along: foreign adversaries seek to destabilize and
Read More“Well, I think not only do we have a coronavirus crisis, we have a democracy crisis, because what’s going to happen, in my worst nightmare, my fear is that no one votes because they’re much more fearful of contracting a disease than they are of not voting.” That was Denise Merrill, Connecticut’s Secretary of the State, on her fear that
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While the spread of coronavirus has upended the lives of Americans across the country and changed the nature of campaigns, congressional candidates are still facing pressure to fill their campaign coffers. Last week, all candidates filed new campaign finance reports, detailing their fundraising and expenditures between January 1 and March 31, 2020. Here are some key numbers to know, based
Read MoreMarch proved to be a pivotal month in the 2020 presidential election. Former Vice President Joe Biden became the presumptive Democratic nominee after winning big on Super Tuesday, and the spread of coronavirus upended the lives of Americans across the country, as well as the routines of the campaign trail. All presidential candidates — those still running and those who
Read MoreIssue One on Wednesday sent a letter to the leaders of the House and Senate Armed Services Committees opposing a new Pentagon proposal to weaken post-employment lobbying restrictions on former senior Pentagon officials in the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2021. “Allowing former senior Pentagon officials to take information they received and the relationships they developed as public
Read MoreIssue One Founder and CEO Nick Penniman applauded today’s federal appeals court ruling that upheld the constitutionality of the independent redistricting commission overwhelmingly approved by 61% of Michigan voters in 2018, “This federal court decision is a victory for the people of Michigan who worked tirelessly to ensure that politicians cannot pick their voters,” said Issue One Founder and CEO
Read More“There’s no question members of Congress have access to information that the public does not have, therefore if you want transparency, if you want open hands and a clean heart, members of Congress, while they’re serving, should not be able to actively trade stock.” This week’s episode of Issue One’s “Swamp Stories” podcast dives into the issue of insider
Read MoreIssue One Executive Director Meredith McGehee submitted written testimony on Thursday in support of boosting congressional capacity to the Senate Appropriations Committee’s legislative branch subcommittee. McGehee recommended measures to improve staff retention and diversity — highlighting how competent, experienced staff are key to a strong Congress that can fulfill its constitutional duties to the American people and stand up to
Read MoreThis week, Issue One signed on to a crosspartisan letter to congressional leaders urging transparency and oversight of the forthcoming federal economic relief efforts amid the coronavirus crisis. “Large-scale legislation that carries an unprecedented price tag necessitates an unprecedented level of independent oversight, not less,” officials from 32 groups across the ideological spectrum wrote in an April 6 letter addressed
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