#SunshineWeek: How The For The People Act Will Increase Transparency
In honor of Sunshine Week, a yearly initiative to highlight the importance of open government and transparency, Common Cause President Karen Hobert Flynn took to Twitter to discuss how the For the People Act will increases government transparency related to elections, campaign finance, and ethics. Check out Karen’s Twitter thread below and share your own pro-transparency message on social media using the #SunshineWeek hashtag!
It’s #SunshineWeek, so it’s a good time to talk about how the #ForThePeopleAct (#HR1 / #S1) will increase transparency in our politics, government, and campaigns.
— Karen Hobert Flynn (@KHobertFlynn) March 18, 2021
Here is a 🧵 on the at least 30 ways this bill increases our right to know what is going on in our government.
1) The #ForThePeopleAct guarantees online voter registration. How does that increase transparency? Well, not only does it allow voters to securely register to vote online, but it gives them more access to info about how to update their registration when they move. #SunshineWeek
— Karen Hobert Flynn (@KHobertFlynn) March 18, 2021
2) The #ForThePeopleAct would also require a creation of a program where voters can track the status of the #VoteByMail ballot online and get confirmation when it has been received by your local election official. #SunshineWeek
— Karen Hobert Flynn (@KHobertFlynn) March 18, 2021
3) The #ForThePeopleAct also includes redistricting reform, including setting transparency standards so voters know exactly how voting maps are drawn. #SunshineWeek #FairMaps #EndGerrymandering
— Karen Hobert Flynn (@KHobertFlynn) March 18, 2021
4) The #ForThePeopleAct shines a light on attempts by foreign nationals to influence U.S. political campaigns
— Karen Hobert Flynn (@KHobertFlynn) March 18, 2021
5) The #ForThePeopleAct includes the DISCLOSE Act, so groups spending money on elections would disclose their big money donors. #SunshineWeek
— Karen Hobert Flynn (@KHobertFlynn) March 18, 2021
6) The #ForThePeopleAct includes the Honest Ads Act, so voters know who is spending money on online political advertisements to influence their views. #SunshineWeek
— Karen Hobert Flynn (@KHobertFlynn) March 18, 2021
7) The #ForThePeopleAct also expands the “stand by your ad” disclosure requirement to leaders of corporations, unions, and other organizations purchasing political ads so voters know exactly who is behind the political ads they see. #SunshineWeek
— Karen Hobert Flynn (@KHobertFlynn) March 18, 2021
8) The #ForThePeopleAct repeals an existing prohibition on the IRS from creating new donor transparency rules for organizations that abuse their nonprofit tax status and instead act as #darkmoney political campaign groups. #SunshineWeek
— Karen Hobert Flynn (@KHobertFlynn) March 18, 2021
9) The #ForThePeopleAct repeals an existing prohibition on the SEC from finalizing rules to allow shareholders to have the right to know the political spending of public companies. #SunshineWeek
— Karen Hobert Flynn (@KHobertFlynn) March 18, 2021
10) The #ForThePeopleAct repeals an existing prohibition on @POTUS from signing an executive order requiring government contractors disclose all of their political spending to the public. #SunshineWeek
— Karen Hobert Flynn (@KHobertFlynn) March 18, 2021
11) The #ForThePeopleAct increases disclosure requirements for presidential inauguration committees, so the public has a better understanding of who they are raising money from and how they are spending it. #SunshineWeek
— Karen Hobert Flynn (@KHobertFlynn) March 18, 2021
12) The #ForThePeopleAct would strengthen the structure of the Federal Election Commission (FEC) to end gridlock so the nation’s campaign finance watchdog agency can do its job and enforce the law, including money in politics disclosure rules. #SunshineWeek
— Karen Hobert Flynn (@KHobertFlynn) March 18, 2021
13) The #ForThePeopleAct ends secret coordination between candidate campaigns and Super PACs. #SunshineWeek
— Karen Hobert Flynn (@KHobertFlynn) March 18, 2021
14) The #ForThePeopleAct would require the FEC to develop recommendations for requiring all political committees to submit campaign reports before an election so voters know all the donors behind a campaign or candidate. #SunshineWeek
— Karen Hobert Flynn (@KHobertFlynn) March 18, 2021
15) The #ForThePeopleAct would create a code of ethics for #SCOTUS justices to ensure that one, transparent standard applies to all federal judges. #SunshineWeek
— Karen Hobert Flynn (@KHobertFlynn) March 18, 2021
16) The #ForThePeopleAct increases enforcement for the agency overseeing foreign agents registering to lobby in the US and requires foreign agents disclose transactions involving things of financial value conferred on officeholders. #SunshineWeek
— Karen Hobert Flynn (@KHobertFlynn) March 18, 2021
17) The #ForThePeopleAct strengthens the federal lobbying disclosure law by clarifying that counseling in support of lobbying contacts is actually lobbying and therefore triggers lobbyist registration requirements. #SunshineWeek
— Karen Hobert Flynn (@KHobertFlynn) March 18, 2021
18) The #ForThePeopleAct will create more transparency around federal lobbyist by establishing a single clearinghouse for Lobbying Disclosure Act and Foreign Agents Registration Act registration forms. #SunshineWeek
— Karen Hobert Flynn (@KHobertFlynn) March 18, 2021
19) The #ForThePeopleAct slows the revolving door by prohibiting incentive payments to senior government officials going to the private sector, or vice versa, which are often done in secret. #SunshineWeek
— Karen Hobert Flynn (@KHobertFlynn) March 18, 2021
20) The #ForThePeopleAct requires the President & VP to divest financial interests that pose a conflict of interest and disclose info about their business interests. #SunshineWeek
— Karen Hobert Flynn (@KHobertFlynn) March 18, 2021
21) The #ForThePeopleAct requires ethics waivers for executive branch employees be disclosed to the Office of Government Ethics and to the public. #SunshineWeek
— Karen Hobert Flynn (@KHobertFlynn) March 18, 2021
22) The #ForThePeopleAct reauthorizes and strengthens the Office of Government Ethics. #SunshineWeek
— Karen Hobert Flynn (@KHobertFlynn) March 18, 2021
23) The #ForThePeopleAct requires Senate-confirmed positions & other senior governments officials to disclose contributions by, solicited by, or made on behalf of an individual. It also requires the disclosure of gifts to these individuals & their families. #SunshineWeek
— Karen Hobert Flynn (@KHobertFlynn) March 18, 2021
24) The #ForThePeopleAct strengthens ethics and transparency requirements for members of presidential transition teams, ensuring they are free from conflicts of interest. #SunshineWeek
— Karen Hobert Flynn (@KHobertFlynn) March 18, 2021
25) The #ForThePeopleAct would prohibit Members of Congress from using taxpayer funds to secretly settle any case of employment discrimination. #SunshineWeek
— Karen Hobert Flynn (@KHobertFlynn) March 18, 2021
26) The #ForThePeopleAct would prohibit Members of Congress from serving on boards of for-profit corporations (yes, some members of Congress do that and are not always public about it). #SunshineWeek
— Karen Hobert Flynn (@KHobertFlynn) March 18, 2021
27) The #ForThePeopleAct would require Members of Congress link to the campaign finance and federal lobbying reports online. #SunshineWeek
— Karen Hobert Flynn (@KHobertFlynn) March 18, 2021
28) The #ForThePeopleAct would give the public access to all reports from federal agencies mandated by Congress by putting them online in a searchable and downloadable database. #SunshineWeek
— Karen Hobert Flynn (@KHobertFlynn) March 18, 2021
29) The #ForThePeopleAct would require all Members of Congress disclose any outside income earned by congressional employees. #SunshineWeek
— Karen Hobert Flynn (@KHobertFlynn) March 18, 2021
30) The #ForThePeopleAct would require candidates for the President and Vice President disclose their individual and business tax returns, and they be made available to the public. #SunshineWeek
— Karen Hobert Flynn (@KHobertFlynn) March 18, 2021
Want to learn more about the #ForThePeopleAct? Check out @CommonCause's resource hub: https://t.co/74PClXunO5
— Karen Hobert Flynn (@KHobertFlynn) March 18, 2021