Press Release
Government Watchdog Supports New Bill to Ban Members of Congress from Trading Stock
Majority of Americans support a stock trading ban
Press
Media Contacts
Katie Scally
Communications Director
kscally@commoncause.org
202-736-5713
Ariana Marmolejo
Communications Strategist
amarmolejo@commoncause.org
Kenny Colston
Regional Communications Strategist (Midwest)
kcolston@commoncause.org
Maya Majikas
Communications Strategist
mmajikas@commoncause.org
Common Cause’s network of national and state democracy reform experts are frequent media commentators. To talk with one of our experts, please reach out to any member of the press team above.
News Clip
Roll Call: Advocacy groups denounce GOP proposals to ‘gut’ ethics office
“At first glance, it comes across as neutral, but it seems clear it hamstrings OCE,” said Aaron Scherb, senior director of legislative affairs for Common Cause. “Without a full slate, then they can’t really take actions. Another provision says they have to make hiring decisions within the first 30 days, but they can’t do that without a full slate of board members.”
News Clip
Insider: Trump won’t be able to terminate the US Constitution but a Republican-led effort to rewrite it continues
"We also know hearing what the opposition is talking about that they are going to be hitting every state that they can think of," Viki Harrison, director of Constitutional Convention and Protecting Dissent Programs at Common Cause, told Insider.
Harrison and others involved in trying to thwart the movement have said that the Supreme Court's decision to overturn Roe v. Wade has fundamentally changed how Americans respond to this issue. While the high court has no role in a convention, Harrison said people are now aware that major...
Harrison and others involved in trying to thwart the movement have said that the Supreme Court's decision to overturn Roe v. Wade has fundamentally changed how Americans respond to this issue. While the high court has no role in a convention, Harrison said people are now aware that major...
News Clip
Associated Press: FEC levies $30K penalty tied to Kobach’s 2020 US Senate bid
The agreement came more than three years after two watchdog groups, Common Cause and the Campaign Legal Center, filed formal complaints about a July 2019 fundraising email for Kobach’s U.S. Senate campaign. Kobach, who is a polarizing advocate of tough immigration measures, lost the Republican primary for an open U.S. Senate seat in August 2020.
News Clip
Minnesota Public Radio: Democrats see ‘mandate’ to rewrite election laws
Common Cause Minnesota Executive Director Annastacia Belladonna-Carrera said narrow DFL margins could also doom election law changes.
“Now that the Democrats have the House and the Senate, wow, easy peasy, we're just going to roll with all of these reforms, that's not going to be the case,” Belladonna-Carrera said. “There are still intra-caucus dynamics, there is over-promising. And only five months in the legislative session.”
“Now that the Democrats have the House and the Senate, wow, easy peasy, we're just going to roll with all of these reforms, that's not going to be the case,” Belladonna-Carrera said. “There are still intra-caucus dynamics, there is over-promising. And only five months in the legislative session.”
News Clip
New York Times: The Jan. 6 Report Is Out. Now the Real Work Begins.
This response to Watergate was not inevitable. Reform depended on the establishment or expansion of a robust network of organizations, including Common Cause and Congress Watch. Those organizations insisted that legislation creating stronger checks on the executive branch, strengthening Congress and imposing laws to make it easier to hold officials accountable were the only ways to check bad behavior. ...
The problems that the Jan. 6 report highlights are different in nature from the problems during Watergate. Though addressing...
The problems that the Jan. 6 report highlights are different in nature from the problems during Watergate. Though addressing...
News Clip
CBS News: George Santos won a seat in Congress on a resume full of inconsistencies. Some supporters now want answers.
Ethics watchdogs are also monitoring developments. Susan Lerner, executive director for Common Cause New York, called on Santos to resign. Lerner told CBS News she had never seen an instance like this. "This is really, really breathtakingly shocking," Lerner said. "There have been instances where candidates have exaggerated their background…haven't seen anybody who's made up an entirely false life story."
It's unclear whether House GOP leadership will urge any action. "There are always charlatans who will try and fool the...
It's unclear whether House GOP leadership will urge any action. "There are always charlatans who will try and fool the...
News Clip
Wall Street Journal: George Santos Was Just Elected to Congress. He Faces Scrutiny Over His Résumé.
“When you have somebody who had almost no assets and now suddenly has millions—the question is, who does he owe allegiance to?” said Susan Lerner, executive director of the government-watchdog group Common Cause New York.
Press Release
$75 Million Election Funding in Omnibus for States a Down Payment but Much More is Needed
At a time when the freedom to vote remains under attack, Congress will provide a down payment in the omnibus spending bill to provide additional resources for election officials across the country who face a variety of threats and obstacles in helping Americans make their voices heard at the ballot box. This $75 million that Congress is allocating is only a fraction of the investment that will be required to protect our elections and the will of voters from threats both foreign and domestic.
News Clip
Austin American-Statesman: Texts paint an unsettling picture of Perry
"People who follow Rick Perry over the course of his career might think he was more moderate in the earlier days, when you look at immigration and the Texas Dream Act," said Anthony Gutierrez, executive director of Common Cause Texas, a nonpartisan group promoting good government and fair elections. "When it comes to elections, though, Rick Perry was always out there, always into conspiracy theories and voter fraud narratives."
He noted Perry signed Texas' first voter ID law, a measure so extreme the courts ordered the state...
He noted Perry signed Texas' first voter ID law, a measure so extreme the courts ordered the state...
Press Release
Electoral Count Act Reform in Omnibus is a Vital First Step to Protect Our Votes & The Will of The People
The inclusion of the Electoral Count Reform and Presidential Transition Improvement Act in the omnibus spending package is a vital first step in protecting the votes and voices of all Americans. Enacting these reforms to ensure that the will of the voters will be respected and followed is particularly important in light of Donald Trump’s announcement that he is again running for the White House and his public call to terminate the U.S. Constitution in order to overturn the 2020 election and declare himself president. We know from the January...
News Clip
Daily Beast: Feds Are ‘Begging’ Congress to Stop Trump Donation Scam
Viki Harrison, director of constitutional convention and protecting dissent programs at Common Cause, said the FEC’s request should be a “wake-up call” for Congress.
“This is an ever-changing field, and the bad actors are always going to try to find a way around the law, but these are all really good policies, and Congress should have implemented them,” Harrison told The Daily Beast, adding that, after multiple requests have gone unanswered, it “sounds like they’re begging” for help.
Harrison said...
“This is an ever-changing field, and the bad actors are always going to try to find a way around the law, but these are all really good policies, and Congress should have implemented them,” Harrison told The Daily Beast, adding that, after multiple requests have gone unanswered, it “sounds like they’re begging” for help.
Harrison said...
News Clip
Insider: Top government ethics officer was late disclosing his personal finances on multiple occasions
"When the referees themselves don't follow the rules it sends a bad signal that the rules might not really matter," Aaron Scherb, senior director of legislative affairs at Common Cause, told Insider. "People who are in charge of ethics enforcement should be the No. 1 champions of fully complying with the letter and spirit of the law and all relevant regulations."
