policy
Private: Ensuring the independence of inspectors general (IGs)
Loopholes in our system allow presidents to overreach and fire IGs for political or personal reasons, undermining the public’s ability to hold government officials accountable.
Preventing undue influence, corruption, and the appearance of corruption by elected officials, lobbyists, and members of the executive branch.
Too often, though, there is lax or no enforcement of ethics and lobbying laws in Congress and the executive branch.
Many Americans feel members of Congress, government officials, and lobbyists are above the law, using their positions of power for personal or financial gain. Such corruption — or even the appearance of corruption — has a corrosive effect on our democracy, undermining public confidence in the integrity of our most sacred institutions.
To win public trust in our government, it’s imperative we build — and enforce — stronger ethics, accountability, and transparency laws for Congress, the executive branch, and for lobbyists.
We:
Our impact:
ReFormers Caucus member Brian Baird quoted...
Issue One Legislative Director Elise Wirkus cited...
Press releases
Following the news that, after months of negotiations, members of Congress reached a bicameral, bipartisan agreement to update its sexual harassment policy, Issue One Executive Director Meredith McGehee released the…
Sign-on letters
Issue One was joined today by 12 other organizations from across the ideological spectrum in urging all members of the House of Representatives to support a bipartisan resolution introduced last…
Press releases
Following the indictment of Rep. Chris Collins (R-NY), Issue One Executive Director Meredith McGehee released the following statement: “The fact of the matter is that the prosecution of Rep. Chris…
Press releases
In response to the news that EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt resigned today after a months-long series of ethical scandals, Issue One Executive Director Meredith McGehee issued the following statement: “Scott…
Press releases
In response to the House Ethics Committee’s statement today on the personal accountability of members of Congress that leave office after having paid harassment settlements with taxpayer money, as well…
Press releases
In light of the Senate Ethics Committee severely admonishing Sen. Robert Menendez (D-NJ) for ethics violations, Issue One Executive Director Meredith McGehee issued the following statement: “It is a refreshing…
Press releases
Issue One ReFormers Caucus Co-chair former Amb. Tim Roemer (D-IN) issued the following statement in response to White House Office of Management and Budget Director and former member of Congress…
Press releases
The House Ethics Committee this week publicly reproved two Illinois Democratic members of Congress—one for violating House rules and one for violating federal law. Each case was under review by…
Reports
How the House and Senate ethics committees fail to foster a culture of high ethical standards in Congress...
Read the press release. In “The Ethics Blind Spot,” Issue One analyzes and contrasts the case histories of the two ethics oversight bodies in the U.S. House of Representatives—the House…
Press releases
How the House and Senate ethics committees fail to foster a culture of high ethical standards in Congress...
A new report from Issue One called “The Ethics Blind Spot” details how in at least 175 public and confidential ethics investigations over the past decade, the House Ethics Committee has compiled…