Press Releases Archive

Fred Wertheimer Testifies at Democratic Platform Committee Hearing

  In testimony before the Democratic Platform Committee on Saturday, June 18, Democracy 21 President Fred Wertheimer supported the Clinton campaign finance reform plan and urged the Committee to include it in the party’s platform. According to the testimony, key elements of the Clinton plan include creating a small donor, public matching funds system for […]

Democracy 21 Attacks Resolution Adopted Today by House Government Reform Committee to Censure IRS Commissioner

  Statement of Democracy 21 President Fred Wertheimer The resolution adopted today by the House Government Reform Committee to censure IRS Commissioner John Koskinen has no merit and should be ignored by the American people. The censure resolution is an irresponsible attack against IRS Commissioner Koskinen who has served the country with great distinction and […]

Groups Urged Members of House Govt Reform Committee to Reject Resolution to Censure IRS Commissioner Koskinen

  In a letter sent yesterday afternoon to members of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, groups urged the members to vote against a resolution pending before the committee today to censure IRS Commissioner John Koskinen. The groups included include Democracy 21, Americans for Democratic Action, Campaign Legal Center, Center for Media and Democracy, […]

Reform Groups Urge Representatives to Oppose Bill That Would Open Loophole for Foreign Money

  In a letter sent today, reform groups urged representatives to oppose H.R.5053, Representative Peter Roskam’s bill that would eliminate the requirement for 501(c) groups to disclose their donors to the IRS. The groups included the Brennan Center for Justice, Campaign Legal Center, Center for Responsive Politics, Common Cause, CREW, Democracy 21, Every Voice, Issue […]

Statement by Reform Groups on Campaign Finance Reform Package Unveiled Yesterday by Senate Democrats

The American people overwhelmingly want their elections to be of, by and for the people. They want everyone’s voice to have a chance to be heard in Washington, D.C. They want the barriers reduced that prevent qualified people from running for and serving in public office. In short, they object to today’s big money campaign […]

Democracy 21 Statement on Senate Democratic Reform Package

It goes without saying that our campaign finance system is completely broken. We haven’t seen this kind of big money flooding into our political system since the Robber Baron era.  According to data from the Center for Responsive Politics: – The top ten donors and their spouses have given more than $100 million; – Eighty-nine […]

Democracy 21 and the Campaign Legal Center Challenge Failure of FEC to Adopt Regulations

  Democracy 21 and the Campaign Legal Center sent a letter today to FEC Commissioners challenging the agency’s failure to adopt regulations to implement the restricted national party accounts enacted in December 2014 and warning about the consequences of this failure. Congress snuck a rider into a session-ending Omnibus Appropriations bill in 2014 that authorized […]

Reform Groups Urge Members to Oppose Campaign Finance Riders to Appropriations Bill

  In a letter sent today, reform groups urged members of Congress to oppose all “poison pill” riders, including all campaign finance riders, to the fiscal year 2017 Financial Services and General Government (FSGG) Appropriations bill.   The groups included the Brennan Center for Justice, the Campaign Legal Center, Common Cause, CREW, Democracy 21, League […]

House Ways and Means Republicans Open Door to Foreign Money Being Illegally Spent in Federal Elections

Today, House Republicans on the Ways and Means Committee opened the door to foreign money being illegally spent in federal elections through nonprofit groups. On a party line vote, the Committee voted to report a bill introduced by Rep. Peter Roskam (R-IL) that would eliminate the existing requirement for 501(c) nonprofit groups to disclose to […]

Reform Groups Urge Members to Vote Against Bill to Eliminate IRS Contribution Disclosure for Non-profit Groups

  In a letter sent today, reform groups urged members of the House Ways and Means Committee to vote against Rep. Peter Roskam’s bill to eliminate the current requirement for 501(c) groups to make non-public disclosure of their donors to the IRS. The bill is scheduled to be marked up by the committee on Thursday. The […]