Great news! Car rental giant Enterprise announced Wednesday that it has left the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC), a secretive corporate lobbying group that masquerades as a charity.<\/p>
The decision followed an outcry from customers and activists, including Common Cause members and supporters, who for more than four years have been spotlighting ALEC’s hidden lobbying on behalf of its corporate members. Enterprise joined Amazon, Google, eBay, Coca-Cola, Ford, and more than 100 other companies that have left ALEC.<\/p>
ALEC is a lobbying arm for some of the largest corporations in the country. When big energy companies want legislation that blocks climate change initiatives or telecom companies want to get rid of public interest rules for example, they work through ALEC to secretly lobby politicians behind closed doors.<\/p>
Common Cause has joined a large coalition of groups, consumers, and democracy advocates across the country in urging companies to cut ties with ALEC. Common Cause has also filed a whistleblower complaint with the IRS against ALEC, accusing the group of violating the terms of their tax-exempt status by engaging in lobbying while being registered as a charity.<\/p>
By leaving ALEC and listening to consumers and activists, Enterprise has shown that it cares about its customers, its reputation and our democracy. That’s what we should expect from every company.<\/p>"}}]},"yoast_head":"\n