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center for responsive politics
Leading Money-in-Politics Data Nonprofits Merge to Form OpenSecrets, a State-of-the-Art Democratic Accountability Organization
Center for Responsive Politics and National Institute on Money in Politics launch combined organization to integrate federal, state and local data.
Jun 02, 2021
The nation's two leading money-in-politics data organizations have joined forces to help Americans hold their leaders accountable at the federal and state levels, they said today.
The combined organization, OpenSecrets, merges the Center for Responsive Politics (CRP) and the National Institute on Money in Politics (NIMP), each leading entities for three decades. The merger will provide a new one-stop shop for integrated federal, state and local data on campaign finance, lobbying and more, that is both unprecedented and easy to use.
"This merger brings together decades of expertise, massive data sets, and the kind of analysis that researchers, journalists, advocates and individuals rely on to understand the influence of spending on politics," said OpenSecrets Executive Director Sheila Krumholz, who previously led CRP. "At a time when our country is being tested, this is a good day for democracy."
For nearly 40 years, CRP has made best-in-class data and analysis about spending in federal races available to those seeking to unveil and analyze political influence. NIMP has provided similar gold-standard data and analysis for state politics. Now their work will be combined to provide an unparalleled window on money in American politics.
"Transparency fuels the accountability that's necessary to ensure the healthy evolution of our fragile democracy," said OpenSecrets Executive Advisor Edwin Bender, who previously led NIMP. "Combining our work into a singularly robust and comprehensive tool will be invaluable for helping all of us take the measure of who our elected officials truly represent."
The new OpenSecrets tools and analysis are expected to be especially beneficial to reporters covering statehouse politics, as media consolidation and declining news revenues have cut resources to cover state offices.
The new OpenSecrets website will debut later in 2021. The current URL for CRP (OpenSecrets.org) will be retained and the NIMP website at followthemoney.org will continue to be updated until the new site is launched.
The array of benefits for journalists, researchers, activists and engaged members of the public includes:
- New tools that will let users track and analyze how donors, lobbyists and other forces work to wield influence across federal and state lines.
- A concise integrated data-set that encompasses wide-ranging information in one, easily accessible location.
- Resources for anyone looking to present a broader perspective on the wide-ranging career of a politician, lobbyist or revolver.
- Databases that incorporate racial and gender information, putting analyses of these important aspects of democratic representation just a mouse-click away.
- A continuation of CRP's stellar reporting section, now incorporating stories focused on state-level and local data.
- A combined response team, ready to answer any question a user may have on federal, state and local data.
In the months ahead, OpenSecrets will provide CRP and NIMP users with previews of the new data and capabilities, as well as trainings on how to make the most of the new tools and analysis.
Critical support for the merger review and organizational integration process was provided by the Hewlett Foundation.
What people are saying
- "The Center for Responsive Politics and the National Institute on Money in Politics have long provided critical infrastructure for democracy in the United States by enabling citizens, journalists, academic researchers, and transparency and accountability watchdogs to track how money and influence are flowing in American politics. The Hewlett Foundation has supported both organizations as they have made this critical contribution over the past eight years, from the outset of our work to strengthen U.S. Democracy. We are thus all the more pleased to underwrite their joining forces now in OpenSecrets. The foresight and wisdom of the leadership and governing boards of both organizations in seizing the moment to take this step and doing so in a well-planned way that will make the new whole even more valuable than the sum of the parts are exemplary and inspiring." --Daniel Stid, Director, U.S. Democracy Program, the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation
- "When we talk about journalism as a pillar of democracy, the public service these two organizations provide is one of the strongest examples. They remove barriers to public information and provide reporting on our political system that is vital for voters, but hard for people to access. By joining forces, their reporting will have even more impact and support greater participation in our democracy. These combined newsrooms have an especially broad impact because their work is shared and used by tens of thousands of journalists a year. They are vital to our local news coverage as well as national reporting." --Sue Cross, Executive Director and CEO, Institute for Nonprofit News, a network of more than 300 nonprofit, nonpartisan news organizations.
- "Both entities have years of providing the public with crucial information about money in politics and now OpenSecrets will provide a one stop shop for granular campaign finance data which will help foster well-informed citizens. OpenSecrets will also be invaluable for academics in the fields of election law and political science." --Ciara Torres-Spelliscy, Professor of Law, Stetson University
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'A Big Deal': Lawmakers Reintroduce Constitutional Amendment to Overturn Citizens United
"We cannot allow the wealthiest individuals and corporations to flood our elections with cash through complex webs of super PACs and dark money groups that put special interests above the will of the American people."
Jan 20, 2021
In a bid to reverse the outsize influence of corporations and the wealthiest Americans over the nation's electoral process, a bipartisan group of congressional lawmakers on Thursday reintroduced a constitutional amendment to overturn the U.S. Supreme Court's Citizens United ruling.
"To ensure that our elections produce a democracy for all, we must overturnCitizens Unitedand get big money out of our elections."
--Rep. Ted Deutch
The reintroduction of the Democracy for All Amendment in the 117th Congress--led by Reps. Ted Deutch (D-Fla.), John Katko (R-N.Y.), Jim McGovern (D-Mass.), and Jamie Raskin (D-Md.)--occurred on the 11th anniversary of Citizens United v. Federal Elections Commission, a 5-4 ruling which affirmed that corporations are legal persons and that they, labor unions, and other outside groups could spend unlimited amounts of money to influence the outcome of U.S. elections.
The amendment, which has been introduced in every Congress since the 113th, grants the states and the federal government the ability to limit how money is raised and spent in U.S. elections. It also grants the states and Congress the power to differentiate between natural and corporate persons.
\u201cBREAKING: Congress just reintroduced a constitutional amendment to overturn Citizens United.\n\nThis is a big deal.\nhttps://t.co/Mcoq7njay0\u201d— Public Citizen (@Public Citizen) 1611242078
A separate but related measure, the We the People Amendment, has also been reintroduced in each successive Congress since the 113th, most recently by Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.) in February 2019. The amendment would preclude artificial entities such as corporations and limited liability companies from enjoying constitutional rights, which would be reserved for natural persons.
Deutch asserted in a statement released Thursday that Citizens United has "put an unacceptable price of admission on American democracy."
He wrote:
We cannot allow the wealthiest individuals and corporations to flood our elections with cash through complex webs of Super PACs and dark money groups that put special interests above the will of the American people. Americans overwhelmingly support stronger gun laws to keep our communities safe, action on climate change to preserve our planet, and a fair economy that doesn't leave the most vulnerable behind or deny people basic needs like healthcare and a living wage.
Unfortunately, big money in our politics gets in the way time and time again. Limitless campaign spending makes it harder for Washington to solve problems and opens the door to corruption. To ensure that our elections produce a democracy for all, we must overturn Citizens United and get big money out of our elections.
Robert Weissman, president of the consumer advocacy group Public Citizen, welcomed the amendment, saying it "unites the American people," who he said "are furious about a rigged political system that responds to the whims of Big Money rather than the needs and desires of regular people."
"The American people know that Citizens United embodies, perpetuates, and locks in that rigged system," Weissman added. "That's why by overwhelming numbers they favor a constitutional amendment to overturn [it] and related decisions that create an overclass of the wealthy few and consign the rest of us to political serfdom."
Others are seeking to undo the damage wrought by Citizens United via the legislative route. Senate Democrats led Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (N.Y.), Jeff Merkley (Ore.), and Amy Klobuchar (Minn.) announced Tuesday that the first bill they will offer will be the For the People Act (pdf), which would expand voting rights, limit partisan gerrymandering, strengthen ethics rules, and limit money in politics.
\u201cIf we\u2019re going to deliver on health care, housing, & climate, we must start by ensuring our democracy works. We must end gerrymandering, voter suppression & dark money that have rigged our system. That\u2019s why the For the People Act will be the first item on @SenateDems agenda.\u201d— Senator Jeff Merkley (@Senator Jeff Merkley) 1611070209
The progressive advocacy group Stand Up America on Thursday called for the passage of the For the People Act within President Joe Biden's first 100 days.
"Under the leadership of the Biden-Harris administration and with a Democratic Congress, we have a tremendous opportunity to undo some of the damage done by the Roberts Court by passing the For The People Act," Stand Up America managing director Christina Harvey said in a statement.
"Mitigating the damage Citizens United has done to our democracy won't be easy," added Harvey, "but the critical campaign finance reforms in the For the People Act--including creating a small-dollar matching program and requiring super PACs to disclose their donors--are an important first step."
As expected, outside election spending--which was already increasing before Citizens United--skyrocketed following the ruling. According to the Center for Responsive Politics' OpenSecrets.org, outside spending in the 2020 election cycle by super PACs, political parties, and "dark money" groups, among others, totaled a record $2.9 billion, more than double the amount spent in 2016. That's up from $143.8 million in 2008, the last presidential election year before Citizens United.
Citizens United also flung wide open the floodgates to megadonors, who had previously been limited by political action committee caps. According to OpenSecrets, Richard and Elizabeth Uihlein gave over $58.3 million to Republicans during the 2020 election cycle, while Thomas and Kathryn Steyer, the top Democratic donors, spent $54.6 million on liberal races.
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Lawmakers Opposing Assault Weapons Ban Received 130 Times More Gun Industry Donations
Despite public outcry and increased support for stricter gun control measures, analysis shows industry money still dominates in Congress
Mar 08, 2018
New campaign finance data reveals the extent to which efforts to pass meaningful gun control legislation is hamstrung by the power of pro-gun groups.
Analyzing information from the Center for Responsive Politics, the nonpartisan watchdog group MapLight reported Thursday that representatives in the House who refuse to support a ban on military-style semi-automatic weapons and other assault-style firearms, receive about 130 times more money in campaign donations from pro-gun groups than those who back such regulations.
"It's hard to imagine Congress being so out of step with the American public on gun measures if lawmakers were less focused on the campaign money for their reelection."--Alec Saslow, MapLight
Only two of the 172 co-sponsors of the Assault Weapons Ban of 2018 (H.R. 5087) received donations from pro-gun groups during the 2016 election cycle, with Reps. Ben Ray Lujan (D-N.M.) and Tim Walz (D-Minn.), who have previously backed pro-gun legislation, gathering an average of $64 in contributions.
House members who declined to support the legislation received an average of $8,671 from pro-gun groups. Six of the 21 Democrats who haven't yet signed on as co-sponsors received at least $2,500 from gun groups like the National Rifle Association (NRA).
"This kind of disparity is a reminder that our broken campaign finance system has an outsized impact on both our elections and the legislative process," said Alec Saslow, media communications director, in an email to Common Dreams. "It's hard to imagine Congress being so out of step with the American public on gun measures if lawmakers were less focused on the campaign money for their reelection."
The report comes as Americans show increased support for an assault weapons ban in the wake of the shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fla. last month, with 68 percent of people surveyed by Politico saying they back a ban.
While enthusiasm for bold action is on the rise among the public, the financial power of pro-gun groups continues to keep legislators from supporting wide-reaching legislation to keep guns like the AR-15, which was used in Parkland and in several other mass shootings in recent years, out of the hands of civilians.
While H.R. 5087 has not been co-sponsored by a single Republican, GOP lawmakers have largely attempted to shift the national focus away from controls on civilian gun ownership after the deaths of 17 people in Parkland, with the Florida Legislature passing a bill Wednesday that would allow school districts to arm teachers, and President Donald Trump meeting with video game industry representatives on Thursday to discuss the widely debunked theory that violent video games have contributed to school shootings.
The president's meeting comes a week after an impromptu late-night sit-down with the NRA, during which he appeared to reverse his earlier statements in support of stricter gun control measures.
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