Issue One joins crosspartisan coalition in calling for increased congressional capacity

Issue One has joined nearly 70 organizations, individuals, and good government advocates calling for increased investment for congressional capacity, specifically calling for an increase of 10%, or $530.9 million, in funding for the legislative branch. 

“Over the decades, funding for Congress and its support offices and agencies have significantly lagged behind increases in discretionary spending for the rest of the federal government, creating a yawning gap between Congress’s legislative, oversight, and constituent service responsibilities and its capacity to meet those responsibilities,” states the new letter, which was sent to congressional leaders today and whose signatories include the Bipartisan Policy Center, Demand Progress, Democracy 21, FreedomWorks, Lincoln Network, Niskanen Center, R Street Institute, Project on Government Oversight (POGO), Protect Democracy, and Public Citizen. 

“We firmly believe that dedicating resources to build a stronger, more capable Congress is of key importance to our democracy and is necessary for it to fulfill its constitutional responsibilities,” the letter further states. 

It continues: “Congress must have sufficient resources to lead in federal policymaking, provide services for constituents, and conduct oversight that roots out waste, fraud, abuse, and malfeasance. It must also modernize its information technology and digital infrastructure to meet these challenges. We respectfully urge you to increase the share of funding available for the Legislative branch by an additional 10 percent.”

The letter was sent to Sens. Patrick Leahy (D-VT) and Richard Shelby (R-AL), chair and ranking member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, as well as Reps. Rosa DeLauro (D-CT) and Kay Granger (R-TX), chair and ranking member of the House Appropriations Committee.

Read the full letter here.

The full list of signatories of this letter are as follows:

1. American Family Voices
2. American Library Association
3. American Principles Project
4. Bipartisan Policy Center Action
5. Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW)
6. College to Congress
7. Congressional Management Foundation
8. Defending Rights & Dissent
9. Demand Progress
10. Democracy Fund Voice
11. Democracy 21
12. DotGov.com
13. Fix the Court
14. Free Government Information
15. FreedomWorks
16. Government Accountability Project
17. Government Information Watch
18. GovTrack.us
19. Issue One
20. Lincoln Network
21. NALEO Educational Fund
22. National Security Counselors
23. Niskanen Center
24. Open The Government
25. Other98
26. Partnership for Public Service
27. Pay Our Interns Action
28. Project On Government Oversight (POGO)
29. Protect Democracy
30. Public Citizen
31. R Street Institute
32. Rachel Carson Council
33. Revolving Door Project
34. Senior Executives Association
35. Social Security Works 
36. TechFreedom
37. Union of Concerned Scientists
38. X-Lab
39. Norman Ornstein, American Enterprise Institute
40. Robert Cook-Deegan, Arizona State University
41. Mahmud Farooque, Arizona State University
42. Lorelei Kelly, Beeck Center for Social Impact + Innovation at Georgetown
43. Mike Miesen, Belfer Center for Science & International Affairs
44. Jon Peha, Carnegie Mellon University
45. Matt Glassman, Claremont McKenna College
46. Hebah Kassem, Congressional Progressive Caucus Center
47. Alex Howard, Digital Democracy Project
48. Jillian Grennan, Duke University
49. Kenny Gutierrez, Electronic Frontier Foundation
50. Jennifer Pahlka, Former US Deputy Chief Technology Officer
51. Rick Shapiro, Former Executive Director of the Congressional Management Foundation and Former Senior Consultant for Democracy Fund
52. Beth Simone Noveck, The Governance Lab
53. Richard Skinner, Johns Hopkins University
54. Brian Baird, Member of Congress (Retired)
55. Lee Drutman, New America
56. Robert Seamans, New York University
57. Caroline Wagner, Ohio State University
58. Marci Harris, POPVOX Inc
59. Sarah E. Hunt, Rainey Center Freedom Project
60. Laura Manley, Technology and Public Purpose Project
61. Maurice Turner, Turner Consulting, LLC
62. Richard Forno, UMBC
63. Brendan P. Kelly, University of Alaska Fairbanks
64. Kevin M. Esterling, University of California, Riverside
65. Kathleen Clark, Washington University

Note: Individuals’ affiliations are listed for identification purposes only