Common Cause: Highlights of Accomplishments

Directly from their site:

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Highlights of Common Cause's Accomplishments:


1971 - Helps pass the 26th Amendment, giving 18-year-olds the right to vote.

1974 - Helps lobby Congress to end funding for the Vietnam War.

1974 - Leads efforts to pass presidential public financing, contribution limits and disclosure requirements.

1974-75 - Helps pass Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) and open meetings laws at federal, state and local levels.

1978 - Led effort to pass the historic Ethics in Government Act of 1978, requiring financial disclosure for government officials and restricting the "revolving door" between business and government.

1982 - Works to pass extension of the Voting Rights Act.

1985 - After leading a major grassroots campaign against the MX missile, Common Cause plays a lead role in convincing Congress to cap at 50 the number of MX missiles, after coming close to nearly killing the program outright.

1987 - Works with civil rights groups to successfully oppose the nomination of Robert Bork to the U.S. Supreme Court.

1988 - Calls for the congressional ethics investigation of House Speaker James Wright (D-TX) that leads to his resignation.

1989 - Successfully lobbies for passage of the Ethics in Government Act, which abolished special-interest honoraria fees for members of Congress, strengthened the congressional federal ethics laws for the executive branch and Congress, and closed the "grandfather clause" loophole used by senior members of Congress to convert campaign funds to personal use upon retiring.

1990 - Works to help pass the Americans with Disabilities Act, guaranteeing civil rights for the disabled.

1995 - Calls for outside counsel to investigate House Speaker Newt Gingrich (R-GA), prompting an ethics investigation that ended in his resignation and a $300,000 fine.

1995 - Works with civil rights and voting rights groups to pass the Motor Voter Act, easing registration barriers for voters.

1995 - Lobbies for limits on gifts in the House and Senate and for passage of the Lobby Reform Act, providing disclosure of lobbyists' activity and spending.

2000 - Successfully works for legislation to unmask and require disclosure of "527" political groups.

2001 - Lobbies successfully with a coalition for the Help America Vote Act, which provided funding to states for improvement of the nation's system of voting.

2002 - Leads successful multi-year campaign to enact the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act, banning soft money in federal campaigns. In 2003, in a landmark decision, the U.S. Supreme Court upheld the law.

2003 - Leads coalition to raise public awareness about the Federal Communication Commission's efforts deregulate media ownership. Campaign resulted in more than 2 million Americans contacting the FCC to complain about the rules change.

2004 - Launches major voter mobilization and election monitoring programs for presidential election.

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