Press Release

Today, Common Cause filed complaints with the Department of Justice (DOJ), the U.S. House Committee on House Administration, and the Office of Congressional Ethics against Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) and his landlord and donor Collier Merrill for their failure to disclose their longstanding relationship while seeking the required congressional approval of an office lease. The complaints urge an investigation into whether both men violated the criminal law prohibition on concealment of material facts in filings or statements to the federal government, and whether Rep. Gaetz is violating House gift rules by paying less than market value for his office rent.

In comments filed yesterday, Common Cause and New America’s Open Technology Institute (OTI) criticized the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) for failing to protect public safety and low-income Americans’ access to the internet. The comments were filed in response to a federal court order that admonished the FCC for ignoring these critical issues when it repealed net neutrality rules in 2017. Common Cause and OTI called this failure a “dereliction of duty” and urged the agency to correct its past mistakes. The comments also highlighted the ways in which the FCC’s misguided repeal of net neutrality has undermined the agency’s ability to protect people during the COVID-19 pandemic and expand access to the Lifeline program.

Today, Common Cause called on Congress to provide funding to safeguard key elements of our democracy in the next COVID-19 emergency supplemental funding bill. The letter urges every Member of Congress to provide significant funding in the stimulus package to backstop vital elements of our democracy and to ensure proper safeguards are put into place to oversee government disbursement of trillions of dollars in stimulus funds. In the face of the pandemic, Common Cause calls for funding to safeguard our elections, the Census, the U.S. Postal Service, access to broadband internet service, as well as local journalism and to fully staff and prioritize the CARES Act Congressional Oversight Commission.

Today, Common Cause called on Congress to hold emergency hearings to examine why Wisconsin voters were forced to risk their lives by standing in lines at polling places on April 7th during the COVID-19 pandemic when public gatherings were prohibited in the state. The letter to the Senate Rules and Administration Committee and the Committee on House Administration also urged the committees to explore how other states are adjusting their elections to ensure that all voters can be counted during the current pandemic in both the primaries and the general election. The letter also emphasizes the need for Congress to provide additional election funding to states in its next stimulus bill to help ensure every American is able to cast their ballot in a safe and secure manner.

(Washington, DC) –Today, a coalition of nearly 50 organizations and media scholars joined Common Cause, PEN America, and Free Press in a letter calling on Congress to include vital funding for local news in the next stimulus package proposed in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The letter explains that House and Senate leadership should consider local press an industry vital to the nation’s health, prosperity, and recovery.

We deserve a government accountable and transparent to the people, but President Trump is once again acting as if he is above the law. Trump’s decision to remove Glenn Fine, the leader of an independent panel of inspectors general providing oversight of the coronavirus relief stimulus, is a corrupt power grab. Without strong oversight,  the public will not have the confidence that their hard-earned money actually serves the public over special interests.