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Government Accountability Groups Urge House to Strengthen the Office of Congressional Ethics and Make It Permanent

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Government Accountability Groups Urge House to Strengthen the Office of Congressional Ethics and Make It Permanent

Today, Common Cause and other government accountability groups urged every member of the U.S. House of Representatives to strengthen the independent Office of Congressional Ethics (OCE) and make the office permanent. Even if Congress does not codify the OCE into law at this time, the groups stress the importance of maintaining the office’s continued existence and the importance of not weakening it in the 119th Congress. The letter emphasizes overwhelming public support for increased ethics and accountability measures and touts the success of...

Media Contacts

David Vance

National Media Strategist
dvance@commoncause.org
240-605-8600

Katie Scally

Communications Director
kscally@commoncause.org
202-736-5713

Ariana Marmolejo

Regional Communications Strategist (West)
amarmolejo@commoncause.org

Jennifer Garcia

Regional Communications Strategist (South)
jgarcia@commoncause.org

Kenny Colston

Regional Communications Strategist (Midwest)
kcolston@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.

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Star Tribune/Yahoo! News: ‘Book Senator Hoffman to speak’: DFL state senator’s consulting firm raises ethical questions

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Star Tribune/Yahoo! News: ‘Book Senator Hoffman to speak’: DFL state senator’s consulting firm raises ethical questions

Annastacia Belladonna-Carrera, executive director of Common Cause Minnesota, a nonprofit that advocates for government transparency, also had concerns. She said, "Sen. Hoffman's use of this title for marketing his consulting business as 'senator', along with the use of pictures taken while at the Capitol campus, can arguably be seen as him leveraging his public role for private gain."

Belladonna-Carrera suggested the legislative branch could benefit from having clearer rules for lawmakers.

"This branch of...

NBC News: Wisconsin voters approve two GOP-backed ballot measures that will change how elections are run

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NBC News: Wisconsin voters approve two GOP-backed ballot measures that will change how elections are run

“In the April elections Wisconsin tends to have low turnout, and not many people are going to look at these [closely]. Maybe they’ll read it and think, ‘yeah, that sounds reasonable,’” Jay Heck, the executive director of Common Cause Wisconsin, the state’s branch of the national nonpartisan government watchdog group, said ahead of the results. “But they are both the product of election denial.”

Their impact could be notable, Heck suggested. With avenues for additional funding roped off, and with the scope of who...

CBS/Associated Press: Writing the wrong date on your mail-in ballot in Pa. could get your vote thrown out, judges rule

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CBS/Associated Press: Writing the wrong date on your mail-in ballot in Pa. could get your vote thrown out, judges rule

Common Cause Pennsylvania issued this statement about the ruling:

"This ruling means that counties will be permitted to throw out ballots that were submitted in time, for reasons irrelevant to the voters' eligibility to vote. We are disheartened by this ruling and maintain our position that every voter who makes the effort to participate should have their vote counted. But our work will continue regardless. Though this ruling will undoubtedly have a negative impact on elderly voters and voters of color, we will work with...

Miami Herald/Orlando Sentinel (Editorial): Lawmakers make it easier for corruption to flourish

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Miami Herald/Orlando Sentinel (Editorial): Lawmakers make it easier for corruption to flourish

Common Cause Florida and eight other groups are urging DeSantis to veto the bill, calling the personal knowledge standard “an unreasonably high evidentiary hurdle that has never existed in the 50-year history of the Commission. Instead, complaints should continue to require the filer to certify that the information is true to the best of their knowledge, which already discourages false and frivolous complaints.”

Nebraska Examiner: ‘Partisan balance’ requirements on state commissions ignored, sidestepped

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Nebraska Examiner: ‘Partisan balance’ requirements on state commissions ignored, sidestepped

Gavin Geis of Common Cause Nebraska said it was disappointing and concerning that the partisan balance requirement had been ignored and sidestepped.

“It’s put in there for a purpose, so we have some sort of diversity of opinion and perspective on questions of policy,” Geis said. “That diversity of thought leads to better outcomes.”

“Not everyone has the opinion of a registered Republican,” he added. “It certainly should not to be skirted around.”

Cincinnati Enquirer/Louisville Courier Journal: How conservative Florida groups pushed controversial child labor, SNAP bills in Kentucky

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Cincinnati Enquirer/Louisville Courier Journal: How conservative Florida groups pushed controversial child labor, SNAP bills in Kentucky

“This is not just some kind of organic, grassroots effort. It's a much more … deliberative, pernicious effort by big business,” said Aaron Scherb, the senior director of legislative affairs at Common Cause, a national watchdog group.

Associated Press: In the Kansas House, when lobbyists ask for new laws, their names go on the bills

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Associated Press: In the Kansas House, when lobbyists ask for new laws, their names go on the bills

“I’m thrilled to see it,” said Heather Ferguson, a Kansan who is director of operations for the government transparency group Common Cause. “It helps to rebuild some of the trust with the public in their elected officials and in their institutions and in the legislative process in general.”

In some offices and hallways under the Kansas Statehouse’s copper dome, the response to the new practice has been less enthusiastic than Ferguson’s reaction, though lobbyists won’t publicly criticize it. Eric Stafford, who...

Georgia Public Broadcasting/Georgia Recorder: Georgia lawmakers could still tinker with election rules in waning days of 2024 legislative session

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Georgia Public Broadcasting/Georgia Recorder: Georgia lawmakers could still tinker with election rules in waning days of 2024 legislative session

Anne Gray Herring, a policy analyst for Common Cause Georgia, said requiring eligible voters to go through this burden of proving their residency is not a trivial thing.

“I do appreciate that the bill attempts to clarify what is probable because that was something that is needed through this new mass challenge landscape,” she said.

Atlanta Journal-Constitution: Money, legal threats, power: A lawmaker-led firm’s ascent

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Atlanta Journal-Constitution: Money, legal threats, power: A lawmaker-led firm’s ascent

Donations such as those from Talitrix and others with ties to the company are a relatively common practice for those who seek to influence public officials, but it’s concerning, said Aunna Dennis, executive director of the Georgia chapter of Common Cause, a government and ethics watchdog group.

The current limit for county politicians is $3,300 for primary and general elections. Donating through related entities and family members helps skirt Georgia’s limits on individual giving, Dennis said.

“It may not be...

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