Legislative Ethics

Statement by Wendy Fields, Common Cause Vice President, calls for full investigation of lead poisoning in Flint, MI water supply.

The Massachusetts State Senate today released legislation to reform the Massachusetts public records law and announced a vote on the subject next week. Open government groups, which comprise the steering committee of the Massachusetts Freedom of Information Alliance, lauded the reform and called for swift passage. The new bill, released by the Senate Ways and Means Committee today, follows passage of a much weaker bill in the House of Representative last November.

House Speaker Paul Ryan should suspend privately-funded foreign travel by House members and staff and launch a formal review of the rules governing it, Common Cause and other advocacy organizations said today.

The indictment returned against Sen. Bob Menendez today alleges a gross abuse of the public trust. While he is of course presumed innocent at this point, Sen. Menendez should step aside from his position as ranking member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee until this matter is resolved.

The resignation of Rep. Aaron Schock makes an open and shut case for stronger ethics enforcement and training in Congress, Common Cause said today.

The resignation of Rep. Aaron Schock makes an open and shut case for stronger ethics enforcement and training in Congress, Common Cause said today.