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Money & Politics

 

Current Campaigns

Campaign Finance Reform

The 2008 presidential race was the costliest in history. The candidates, political parties, and interest groups spent a record 5.3 billion—a 27 percent increase over 2004. This type of spending invites corruption, reduces the diversity of candidates for public office, and puts wealthy donors ahead of average citizens. We need a new system for financing campaigns.  Read more.

Lobby Reform

Recent congressional scandals demonstrate the role of powerful interests and their lobbyists, as they engage in unseemly practices from accepting gifts and travel junkets to outright bribery. Read more.



Overview

Money plays far too great a role in American elections, from the municipal level all the way up to the U.S. Presidency. Large contributions from a few groups and individuals unduly influence who wins elections and reduce the role of ordinary voters in our democracy.

U.S.PIRG is working to achieve campaign finance reform by enforcing tough campaign contribution limits, creating systems of public financing, and enacting lasting lobby reform.



When Congressman Randy "Duke" Cunningham pleaded guilty to accepting more than $2.4 million in bribes, the American public was outraged. In response to the large number of scandals in the last Congress, lawmakers recently passed sweeping changes to the rules to limit the “cozy” relationship between legislators and lobbyists.

Reports

 

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