Government Accountability
Common Cause is dedicated to making government open and accountable. Our founder, John Gardner, said "We want public officials to have literally millions of American citizens looking over their shoulders at every move they make." Since we first started "looking over shoulders" in 1970, Common Cause and our activists have been at the forefront of ensuring that government officials are acting in the public interest, not for their own personal benefit or for the benefit of powerful and influential special interest.
Common Cause has worked to shine a bright light on public officials and lobbyists who prefer to work behind closed doors and to insist that government officials are held to the highest standards of conduct.
Stimulus Transparency
On February 17, 2009, President Barack Obama signed into law the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. Totaling $787 billion, the Act includes federal tax cuts, expansion of unemployment benefits and other social welfare provisions, and domestic spending in education, health care, and infrastructure.
The Common Cause Stimulus Transparency, Accountability, and Clean Administration project is an important part of a larger collaborative effort to insure this historic government spending program benefits needy communities and promotes smart growth. Common Cause is promoting a model for transparency, accountability, and clean administration of stimulus spending for all levels of government across the country by developing state and local coalitions made up of diverse stakeholders to insist on full transparency of stimulus spending.
Ethics Watchdog
Since our founding, Common Cause has been on the forefront of the fight for stronger ethics at all levels of government. We believe that the integrity of government is fundamental to our democracy. Common Cause will continue to monitor the activities of members of Congress and state and local lawmakers to assure that they uphold the highest standards in carrying out their duties and responsibilities.
Abuse of Power
Over the past decade, we've endured repeated abuses of power by the Executive Branch of our government. Time after time, we've watched Congress fail to stand up for what's right. We've seen the very symbols of our democracy tarnished, as our nation's reputation suffers at home and abroad because of these abuses.
Common Cause is demanding a government that:
• Ends torture, respects human rights and restores America’s reputation in the world.
• Respects the rule of law and fiercely challenges anyone who seeks to undermine the Constitution and the Bill of Rights.
• Roots out corruption, special interest abuses and partisan prejudice in the administration of justice.
• Holds to account – without exception – anyone who breaks the law or violates the public trust.
• Protects personal freedom by rejecting warrantless spying and other affronts to individual liberty.
Protecting Whistleblowers
Honest insiders who risk their careers to blow the whistle on wrongdoing are true heroes of democracy. We are working to strengthen protections for whistleblowers and help people feel safe coming forward with information that protects the public from waste, fraud, and abuse.
The Economic Bailout
So far, about $350 billion tax dollars have been spent or committed to private institutions under the government’s bailout plan. Virtually none of the money has been earmarked for families facing foreclosure. The Government Accountability Office has reported that the program lacks ways to ensure that banks are properly using the money or that they are complying with limits on executive compensation. It seems their concerns were well-founded.
The Bush Administration and Congress failed to oversee government contracting in Iraq and in New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina. Congress needs to get more engaged in the process of spending our tax dollars on contractors and recovery efforts than it has been in the past – and it needs to make sure the bailout is helping ordinary Americans who are being hurt by the recession.
Open Government
A core element of Common Cause’s agenda is making certain that government at all levels operates in the open, with full access for the public to meetings and public records throughout the legislative and regulatory policymaking process. We are working to make the best use of new technologies to provide access for the public, including webcasting of meetings, internet-based public participation and easily searchable databases of legislation, elected officials’ voting records and other important public information.
Fighting Government Secrecy
The Bush Administration and many state governments have placed harsh restrictions on the information available to the press and public, rolling back important freedoms passed to prevent abuses of power under the shroud of secrecy. We are fighting to protect the Freedom of Information Act and reverse the trend toward secrecy under the pretext of national security.
Improving Disclosure Laws
Laws requiring public disclosure of lobbying activities, personal financial interests and campaign contributions are a critical element in ensuring government accountability. Common Cause will strengthen the hand of citizen advocates and watchdogs by working to beef up enforcement of financial and lobbying disclosure laws and require lobbyists and campaign donors to fully disclose their activities and donations instantly on the Internet.