Holding Power Accountable
This report series chronicles efforts in Congress and the Administration to bypass or undermine the rules and laws that are in place to ensure that our government works in an open and accountable manner. The reports focus on the process through which Congress or the Administration decides on legislation or national policy in a variety of issue areas.

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1. "Democracy on Drugs" (PDF) looks at how the $535 billion Medicare bill passed by Congress and signed by President Bush late last year has been a study in shutting out opposing voices and suppressing the flow of vital information. It has been mentioned in news stories and op-eds in papers that include the Sacramento Bee, the Hartford Courant, the Telegraph Herald (Dubuque, IA), the Fresno Bee, the Allentown (PA) Morning Call and the Albuquerque (NM) Tribune.

2. People want to know how our country got entangled on such a tragic mess in Iraq. In What Went Wrong: How the United States got into the mess in Iraq, Common Cause looks at the process of going to war in Iraq and how it led to the Bush administration's miscalculations, misleading statements and undermining of basic democratic principles of openness and accountability. Congress, including Democratic leaders, played a role too in their failure to ask tough questions and scrutinize the president's proposals.

3. Eye on Iraq: Holding Accountable Unchecked Private Contracting report, part of our Holding Power Accountable series, highlights findings of ongoing investigations by federal agencies into the administration's contracting procedures in the early stages of the reconstruction in Iraq.

Money in Politics

Responsbility of Corportate Giants to Disclose Political Contributions: "Mutual Protection: Why the Mutual Fund Industry Should Embrace Disclosure of Political Contributions," is a report examining the importance of the mutual fund industry to voluntarily disclose their political contributions, especially soft money, which is difficult to track, and its reluctance so far to embrace it.

Tobacco Industry: Buying Influence, Selling Death a joint report by Common Cause and the Tobacco-Free Kids Action Fund shows how the tobacco industry spends lavishly in Washington to prevent Congress from enacting public policies to protect the public's health.

George Bush: By now we've all heard about the fundraising prowess of the Bush Pioneers, a select group of elite fundraisers who have helped President Bush raise more money than any other presidential candidate in history. Read this Common Cause report that highlights some of the Pioneers who have seen their contributions repaid through public policy.

John Kerry: Sen. John Kerry (D-MA) has a long history in the Senate of working with the telecommunications industry, and has pulled in major financial support from telecommunication companies, as well as the legal firms and lobbying shops that represent them. So, with big changes ahead in telecommunications, including media consolidation, how do these moneymen stand to benefit? Click here to read our report on Kerry's fundraisers.

Timber Industry: Once again the undue influence of money in politics is evident, this time in Oregon. A new report by Common Cause Oregon looks at the generosity of the timber industry to President Bush, and how it stands to profit from the administration's rollback of federal forest protections and the resulting increased logging on federal forests.

Common Cause Pennsylvania Nationwide Lobby Law Study: This is an in-depth look at the different lobby disclosure laws at the state level. It shows how widely varied lobby disclosure laws across states and how some states require little or no disclosure from lobbyists working to influence legislation. Click here to read the report.