News You Need

Today, the Minneapolis Star Tribune published an op-ed by Minnesota Governor Arne Carlson (R) and Rep. Gerald Sikorski (D-MN), members of Issue One’s ReFormers Caucus.  The piece highlights the increased scrutiny members of Congress are facing following a 60 Minutes segment about the four hours a day they spend ‘dialing for dollars.’   “How ‘dialing for dollars’ has perverted Congress”   A few lawmakers recently

The Democracy Fund is out with a new report this week examining why “Congress is broken,” is a common refrain inside and outside Washington. Their premise is that Congress “is failing its obligations to the American people,” and public opinion agrees. Approval ratings of the body, according to Gallup, haven’t risen above 20 percent in more than three years. And

In a shocking move Thursday, the House Ways and Means Committee approved a bill that would further hinder the IRS from overseeing politically-active nonprofits, or 501(c) “social welfare” groups that are the most active in spending so-called “dark money.” This would “open the door for secret, unaccountable money from foreign governments, corporations and individuals,” into federal elections, according to a

While the 2016 presidential election has breached the $1 billion spending mark, less has been made of another, more damaging, part of our out-of-control campaign finance system: congressional “hard money”  fundraising. The excerpt below, from the recently released book Nation On The Take, takes a deep dive on “dialing for dollars”—the activity that turns Members of Congress into glorified telemarketers

Politicians in Mississippi can continue to spend campaign donations on dry cleaning, car insurance, sports tickets and more after they voted down campaign finance reform measures in the House on Tuesday. Making matters worse—this was a voice vote, so constituents who go to the ballot-box on election day don’t know how their representatives voted on the state’s campaign finance reform

It’s good to be in Congress. According to a new report released today, more than 240 organizations spent nearly $20 million honoring federal officials and the organizations close to them last year. The Hill analyzed Senate disclosure records and looked at gifts by unions, universities, corporations and other groups. Beyond the money, they also highlighted loopholes in the Congressional gift