New links module in lefthand sidebar

Government reform orgs. deliver news on major events within their areas of expertise.
From: All Things Reform

Campaigns by Government Reform Orgs.

We are pleased to add a new module to this blog's lefthand sidebar- Campaigns by Government Reform Organizations. It is a list of links to special, ongoing projects from a variety of groups that accept volunteering by the general public; they are often given their own dedicated web site and web server address.

These online campaigns are deemed of sufficient importance that they are treated as stand-alone projects within their respective orgs. Volunteering is continuously requested as the public interest groups manage these projects to their desired conclusions- you may get involved at any time and have an appreciated role in any of the campaigns' tasks.


>All Things Reform Mobile: allthingsreform.mofuse.mobi >Capitol Switchboard: 202-224-3121 (not toll-free) >US House/Senate Mobile: bit.ly/members >Contact your reps tips: bit.ly/dear >Shortened All Things Reform URL: bit.ly/dw

Added to All Things Reform: Center for Progressive Reform

Government reform orgs. deliver news on major events within their areas of expertise.
From: Center for Progressive Reform

About CPR

The Center for Progressive Reform (home page) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit research and educational organization with a network of Member Scholars working to protect health, safety, and the environment through analysis and commentary.

CPR’s core issue areas are health, safety and the environment. Member Scholars’ work in this area touches on such topics as:

• Protecting the environment (including climate change, clean air and water, enforcement issues, environmental justice, toxics, the next generation of environmental policies, natural resources, wildlife and nature);
• Defending clean science from political or corporate interference;
• Ensuring food and drug safety;
• Excessive secrecy in government (focused on areas affecting health, safety and the environment);
• Regulatory Policy (including cost-benefit analysis, risk assessment and various tools for weighing the merits of protective regulation); and
• Corporate accountability and tort reform (including federal preemption of state tort laws).

CPR has more than 50 Member Scholars around the nation, working academics teaching at colleges and universities. They represent diverse research agendas, areas of expertise, and geographic location. CPR Member Scholars do much of their work through CPR's Issue Groups.

All Things Reform includes CPR in its "Federal Government Ethics Orgs." list in the lefthand column of this blog.

. >All Things Reform Mobile: allthingsreform.mofuse.mobi >Capitol Switchboard: 202-224-3121 (not toll-free) >US House/Senate Mobile: bit.ly/members >Contact your reps tips: bit.ly/dear .

Your state and federal representatives' ratings scorecards

U.S. PIRG, the center for PIRG state affiliates active in the public interest, has a ratings scorecard for each state legislator and U.S. Congressman. It appears to be continuously updated as legislation is passed. The scorecard concerns how each have already voted in the areas of democracy, consumerism, energy, government waste/ budget and others. It is a good way to see how your state and federal representatives stand on the issues that are promoted by All Things Reform.

You can return to the "U.S. PIRG Public Interest Ratings" link any time on this blog, in the left column under "Government Reform-Related Databases."

President Bush signs government ethics bill!

Campaign Legal Center - Common Cause - Democracy 21 - League of Women Voters - Public Citizen - U.S. PIRG
_________________________________________________________________
Press Release, September 14, 2007, http://www.democracy21.org/ _________________________________________________________________
The following statement on the lobbying and ethics reform legislation passed by Congress was issued today by the Campaign Legal Center, Common Cause, Democracy 21, the League of Women Voters, Public Citizen and U.S. PIRG:
The landmark lobbying and ethics reform legislation passed by Congress constitutes a major accomplishment by this Congress.
The far reaching reforms passed by Congress are the most important lobbying and ethics reforms since the Watergate era. They will help to change the way business is done in Washington and help to protect the interests of the American people.
Our organizations strongly commend the House and Senate for responding to deep citizen concerns about corruption and lobbying scandals revealed in the last Congress by passing landmark government integrity reforms.
Our organizations also strongly commend House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, Senator Russell Feingold and Senator Barack Obama and Representative Chris Van Hollen and Representative Rahm Emanuel for the outstanding national leadership they provided for this successful reform effort.
The overwhelming bipartisan vote in Congress for the reform legislation shows once again the powerful voice of citizens and the power of recorded votes when it comes to government integrity issues, with House members voting 411 to 8 and Senators voting 83 to 14 for the reform legislation.
We thank all of the Democrats and Republicans who voted for the legislation.
The immediate challenge that lies ahead now is to ensure that the new lobbying disclosure law and congressional ethics rules are effectively implemented and enforced.
Our organizations will work to achieve this goal and also are working to strengthen the systems for enforcing the congressional ethics rules, lobbying laws and campaign finance laws.
In the longer term, our organizations are working for essential campaign finance reforms that include repairing the presidential public financing system and establishing a public financing system for congressional races.
For now, however, our organizations believe it is important to recognize that this Congress has provided major lobbying and ethics reforms in response to the major corruption, lobbying and ethics scandals that were revealed in the last Congress.
# # #

The above public interest groups are constantly on the leading edge of campaign finance reform and other government ethics concerns in Washington, D.C. With the help of citizen activists such as yourself and thousands of others across this nation, these reform groups work closely with Congress and the President to see that we, the people, are heard and that they are accountable to us only.

Check out these and other government reform groups in the list on the left panel of this blog. Constant vigilance and an optimistic outlook is all it takes to help maintain a responsible and accountable federal government.