Cleaning Up Washington

Cleaning Up Washington

WASHINGTON, DC – Common Cause, the national non-partisan public interest advocacy group that for 35 years has led ethics reform efforts in Congress, will discuss details of its proposal to reform the pay-to-play culture exposed by the Abramoff and other recent scandals.

Telephone Press Conference Details

Who:

Common Cause President Chellie Pingree

What:

Will detail Common Cause’s ethics reform proposals, which deal with congressional and lobbying ethics, as well as discuss other reform proposals that have been introduced.

When:

Wednesday, Jan. 11 at 11 a.m.

Dial in number: 1-800-322-0079

Throughout its 35-year history, Common Cause has been at the forefront of efforts to improve lobbying and congressional ethics, improve transparency and hold power accountable in Washington and in the states. From the 1989 Ethics in Government Act, which banned speaking fees as congressional income supplements and tightened ethics rules on lawmakers, to the 1995 Lobby Disclosure Act, to the congressional gift ban, Common Cause has successfully pushed Congress to improve the way business is done on Capitol Hill.

Today, Congress’ lack of enforcement of its own rules, combined with an environment in which lobbyists were encouraged to pay to play, helped create the Abramoff scandal, and now reforms must be enacted to prevent reoccurrence. Common Cause has always set the gold standard for ethics reform, and this proposal offers the best solution for cleaning up Washington.

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