It’s an open secret in Washington that both parties strong-arm legislators into raising astronomical amounts of cash in order to serve in powerful legislative positions. Affording this “committee tax” often means spending countless hours soliciting corporations, labor unions, and other special interests that have business before Congress. This takes members of Congress away from the jobs they were elected to do — crafting legislation, building relationships with their colleagues, assisting constituents, and conducting oversight.
Analysis
In an exit interview on “Full Measure” with Sharyl Attkisson, broadcast to millions of homes nationwide, U.S. House Oversight and Government Reform Committee Chair, Rep. Jason Chaffetz (R-UT) lambasted the…
TV appearances
What, exactly, is the price of power in Washington for some of the most influential lawmakers on Capitol Hill? That’s the question Issue One’s new report seeks to answer,…
Reports
How Political Parties Squeeze Influential Lawmakers to Boost their Campaign Coffers...
Read the press release. In “The Price of Power,” Issue One reveals how the political parties leverage millions of dollars in contributions from members of Congress who want to chair…
Press releases
How Political Parties Squeeze Influential Lawmakers to Boost their Campaign Coffers...
A new report from Issue One called “The Price of Power” details how the chairs and ranking members of the most influential committees in the U.S. House of Representatives are increasingly being…
Op-eds
by Rep. Zach Wamp (R-TN), Issue One ReFormers Caucus Co-chair Members of Congress are getting an earful from constituents in town halls across the country about their passions and gripes…
Analysis
It’s time to reset our congressional fundraising counter! In July 2016, we launched a counter presenting a rough running estimate of how much time members of Congress collectively spent raising…
Archived
Congratulations! You’ve just been elected to Congress! If you want to serve on a good committee, never mind your credentials or your expertise. You better start fundraising. Speaking with the…
Archived
Members of Congress are angry, if you listen to Representatives David Jolly (R-FL) and Rick Nolan (D-MN) this morning at the National Press Club. They’re angry because leadership in both…
Archived
While the 2016 presidential election has breached the $1 billion spending mark, less has been made of another, more damaging, part of our out-of-control campaign finance system: congressional “hard money”…
Archived
Rep. Steve Israel, the Democratic Party’s chief fundraiser, announced his retirement today from Congress. Why is he leaving office after eight terms? “I don’t think I can spend another day…
