Issue One is an American nonpartisan, nonprofit organization that seeks to reduce the role of money in politics. It aims to increase public awareness of what it views as problems within the present campaign finance system, and to reduce the influence of money in politics through enactment of campaign finance reform.

History

Issue One was formed through the merger of two campaign finance reform organizations: Americans for Campaign Reform and Fund for the Republic.

Americans for Campaign Reform

Americans for Campaign Reform (ACR) was a non-partisan 501(c)(3) organization formed in 2003 by John Rauh, with Dan Weeks, and later

Barbara Lawton Barbara Lawton (born July 5, 1951) is an American businesswoman and politician from Green Bay, Wisconsin who is the President and CEO of Americans for Campaign Reform. A member of the Democratic Party, Lawton was the 43rd Lieutenant Governor ...

, serving as president and CEO. The Board of Directors was composed of two Democratic senators and two Republican senators. The ACR described itself as: "a bipartisan community of citizens who believe passionately that public funding of federal elections is the single most critical long-term public policy issue our nation faces. What's at stake are nothing less than the health of our democracy, the quality of our leadership, and our government's ability to tackle the serious problems that affect us all: health care, energy policy, education, the environment and the economy." Their primary purpose was to enact public funding of all federal elections; supporting legislation that promoted small donor participation in elections and provided increased public funds for qualified candidate to run competitive races. ACR emphasized that the longstanding limits on the size of contributions imposed by national, state and local legislation were important to encouraging ordinary citizens to participate in the electoral process.Americans for Campaign Reform
ACR Reform; May, 2014

Fund for the Republic

Fund for the Republic (FFR) was a group formed in late 2012 with the goal of removing the influence of big money in American politics. In 2013, Fund for the Republic co-hosted an event with

Democracy Alliance The Democracy Alliance is a network of progressive donors who coordinate their political donations to groups that the Alliance has endorsed. It has been described by ''Politico'' as "the country's most powerful liberal donor club". Members of th ...

in which it pitched 110 donors on investing in a $40 million plan to combat ''

dark money In the politics of the United States, dark money refers to spending to influence elections where the source of the money is not disclosed to voters. In the United States, some types of nonprofit organizations may spend money on campaigns wi ...

'' in American politics. Donors to the Fund for the Republic included

members Jonathan Soros and the

William and Flora Hewlett Foundation The William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, commonly known as the Hewlett Foundation, is a private foundation, established by Hewlett-Packard cofounder William Redington Hewlett and his wife Flora Lamson Hewlett in 1966. The Hewlett Foundation awa ...

. That same year, FFR's affiliated (c)(4) announced plans to fund groups working to defeat politicians who oppose campaign finance reform, while supporting groups backing finance reform politicians.

Organization

The group's stated mission is "reducing the influence of money in politics and putting everyday Americans back in control of our democracy." Issue One's Executive Director is

Nick Penniman Nick Penniman is an American nonprofit executive and journalist who serves as the co-founder and CEO of Issue One, a nonprofit organization whose mission is to strengthen American democracy and government ethics. Career Previously, Penniman was ...

. The organization's advisory board is chaired by former U.S. Senators Alan Simpson (R-WY), Bill Bradley (D-NJ) and Bob Kerrey (D-NE). The advisory board includes over 40 members, including

Charles Fried Charles Anthony Fried (born April 15, 1935) is an American jurist and lawyer. He served as United States Solicitor General under President Ronald Reagan from 1985 to 1989. He is a professor at Harvard Law School and has been a visiting profess ...

Wesley Clark Wesley Kanne Clark (born December 23, 1944) is a retired United States Army officer. He graduated as valedictorian of the class of 1966 at West Point and was awarded a Rhodes Scholarship to the University of Oxford, where he obtained a degree ...

and

Doris Kearns Goodwin Doris Helen Kearns Goodwin (born January 4, 1943) is an American biographer, historian, former sports journalist, and political commentator. She has written biographies of several U.S. presidents, including ''Lyndon Johnson and the American Drea ...

Trevor Potter Trevor Potter (born October 24, 1955) is a lawyer, former commissioner and chairman of the United States Federal Election Commission. He is the Founder and President of the Campaign Legal Center, a nonprofit organization which works in the areas ...

, a former chairman of the

Federal Election Commission The Federal Election Commission (FEC) is an independent regulatory agency of the United States whose purpose is to enforce campaign finance law in United States federal elections. Created in 1974 through amendments to the Federal Election Cam ...

(FEC), counsel to the presidential campaigns of

George H. W. Bush George Herbert Walker BushSince around 2000, he has been usually called George H. W. Bush, Bush Senior, Bush 41 or Bush the Elder to distinguish him from his eldest son, George W. Bush, who served as the 43rd president from 2001 to 2009; pr ...

and

John McCain John Sidney McCain III (August 29, 1936 – August 25, 2018) was an American politician and United States Navy officer who served as a United States senator from Arizona from 1987 until his death in 2018. He previously served two terms ...

, and vocal critic of unlimited corporate spending and dark money in politics, is a senior advisor.

Activities

Issue One attempts to change the current U.S. campaign finance system on several fronts. Its activities are designed to generate awareness and a sense of urgency around the issue, to invest through grants in the most promising solutions, to reduce the role of money in politics and minimize the time public officials spend raising campaign money.Former Sen. Alan Simpson: Restore the Balance of Money in Politics
''Time''; December 15, 2015Issue One solutions
''Issue One''; April 30, 2016

ReFormers Caucus

In 2015, Issue One launched its ReFormers Caucus,Former lawmakers join campaign-finance fight
; ''

USA Today ''USA Today'' (stylized in all uppercase) is an American daily middle-market newspaper and news broadcasting company. Founded by Al Neuharth on September 15, 1982, the newspaper operates from Gannett's corporate headquarters in Tysons, Virgini ...

''; Fredreka Schouten; October 28, 2015 a "group of former members of Congress, Cabinet officials and governors from both parties committed to restoring trust in our democratic institutions" which, as of January 2019, had more than 200 members. Members of the ReFormers Caucus include former Secretaries of Defense

Chuck Hagel Charles Timothy Hagel ( born October 4, 1946)Leon Panetta Leon Edward Panetta (born June 28, 1938) is an American Democratic Party politician who has served in several different public office positions, including Secretary of Defense, CIA Director, White House Chief of Staff, Director of the Office of ...

, former Homeland Security Secretary

Tom Ridge Thomas Joseph Ridge (born August 26, 1945) is an American politician and author who served as the Assistant to the President for Homeland Security from 2001 to 2003, and the first United States Secretary of Homeland Security from 2003 to 2005. ...

and former Vice President

Walter Mondale Walter Frederick "Fritz" Mondale (January 5, 1928 – April 19, 2021) was an American lawyer and politician who served as the 42nd vice president of the United States from 1977 to 1981 under President Jimmy Carter. A U.S. senator from Minnesota ...

. The bipartisan co-chairs of the ReFormers Caucus are former Ambassador to India and Indiana Representative

Tim Roemer Timothy John Roemer (born October 30, 1956) is an American diplomat and politician who served in the United States House of Representatives from 1991 to 2003 as a Democrat from Indiana's 3rd congressional district. Subsequently, he was the preside ...

(D) and former Tennessee Representative

Zach Wamp Zachary Paul Wamp (born October 28, 1957) is an American politician who was the U.S. representative for from 1995 to 2011. He is a member of the Republican Party. The district is based in Chattanooga and includes large parts of East Tennessee, ...

(R). The ReFormers Caucus has proposed increasing civic participation, passing laws that define and regulate the role of money in federal elections and "boosting small donations to campaigns, finding ways to restrict political contributions from lobbyists and unmasking secret contributions made to tax-exempt groups that are active in politics."

Blueprints for Democracy

In 2015, Issue One joined with the

Campaign Legal Center Campaign Legal Center (CLC) is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) government watchdog group in the United States. CLC supports strong enforcement of United States campaign finance laws. Trevor Potter, former Republican chairman of the Federal Election Comm ...

to publish Blueprints for Democracy, a report providing an overview of how campaign finance reforms have been implemented across the country, and recommending best practices for legislators and advocates attempting to enact change in their local communities.

Trump Administration

National Public Radio National Public Radio (NPR, stylized in all lowercase) is an American privately and state funded nonprofit media organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., with its NPR West headquarters in Culver City, California. It differs from other n ...

listed Issue One as one of the most active groups in an informal "resistance network" scrutinizing issues involving the Trump administration's ethics and transparency. Specifically, the group has called for more power for the

United States Office of Government Ethics The United States Office of Government Ethics (OGE) is an independent agency within the executive branch of the U.S. Federal Government which is responsible for directing executive branch policies relating to the prevention of conflicts of interes ...

Council for Responsible Social Media

In October 2022, Issue One launched its Council for Responsible Social Media project to address the negative mental, civic, and public health impacts of

social media Social media are interactive media technologies that facilitate the creation and sharing of information, ideas, interests, and other forms of expression through virtual communities and networks. While challenges to the definition of ''social medi ...

in the United States co-chaired by former

House Democratic Caucus The House Democratic Caucus is a congressional caucus composed of all Democratic Representatives in the United States House of Representatives and is responsible for nominating and electing the Democratic Party leadership in the chamber. In its ...

Leader Dick Gephardt and former

Massachusetts Lieutenant Governor The lieutenant governor of Massachusetts is the first in the line to discharge the powers and duties of the office of governor following the incapacitation of the Governor of Massachusetts. The constitutional honorific title for the office is His ...

Kerry Healey.

References

External links

* {{official, https://www.issueone.org
''How Money Poisons Our Politics''
- by two ReFormers Caucus members
''Campaign Finance Reform: How to Finish What Stephen Colbert Started'' by Issue One senior advisor Trevor Potter
Campaign finance reform in the United States Non-profit organizations based in the United States Organizations established in 2014