Activities Issue One's stated mission is "fighting to protect U.S. elections, lessen political polarization, limit the influence of big money over politics, and improve the ability of Congress to solve problems." The organization raises awareness about these issues, advocates for legislation and federal action, and produces research and analysis related to key issues. The ReFormers Caucus has proposed increasing civic participation, passing laws that define and regulate the role of money in federal elections and "boosting small donations to campaigns, finding ways to restrict political contributions from lobbyists and unmasking secret contributions made to tax-exempt groups that are active in politics."
Congressional pay A January 2022 report from Issue One titled "Fair Pay: Why Congress Needs to Invest in Junior Staff" found that one in eight congressional staffers in Washington, DC, were not paid a living wage. The report showed that entry-level staff, in particular, were earning 30 percent less than the national average salary, and recommended a salary floor for all Hill staffers. In April 2022, the Congressional Hispanic Staff Association published an open letter to both chambers of Congress asking for immediate salary increases for staff, citing Issue One's report on the issue.
Election disinformation and voting rights In 2020, Issue One launched the National Council on Election Integrity to counter
disinformation about the
2020 United States presidential election and ensure a peaceful transfer of power. The council was bipartisan, with members including former Democratic National Committee chair
Donna Brazile, former Secretary of State
Madeleine Albright, former Senator and Director of National Intelligence
Dan Coats, former Senate Majority Leader
Bill Frist, and two former Defense Secretaries, Republican
Chuck Hagel and Democrat
Leon Panetta. In December 2020, the council spent $2 million on an ad urging a peaceful transition of power after
President Trump refused to concede the election. In 2021, the council launched a digital ad campaign
inside the Beltway to advocate for the establishment of a
9/11 Commission-style body to investigate the
January 6 United States Capitol attack. That same year, Issue One launched Truthtellers, an outgrowth of the group's Swamp Stories podcast featuring short video clips debunking false claims about the 2020 election. In 2022, Issue One launched a "Faces of Democracy" campaign highlighting the concerns of election administrators and poll workers from across the United States, and requesting increased funding for election infrastructure and election-related threat monitoring, along with increased election privacy protections.
Council for Responsible Social Media In October 2022, Issue One established the Council for Responsible Social Media to address bipartisan concerns with social media, including the impact for national security, and
social media's effects on children and democratic discourse. The council includes former lawmakers such as former House majority leader
Dick Gephardt and former lieutenant governor of Massachusetts
Kerry Healey, the former Facebook employee and whistleblower
Frances Haugen, and tech advocates including
Tristan Harris. The Council has endorsed the
Kids Online Safety Act. Issue One supported the Supreme Court ruling in
TikTok, Inc. v. Garland.
Research In 2015, Issue One joined with the
Campaign Legal Center to publish Blueprints for Democracy, a report providing an overview of how campaign finance reforms have been implemented across the country, and recommending best practices for legislators and advocates attempting to enact change in their local communities. In 2018, Issue One released a report titled "Dark Money Illuminated" that detailed political spending by nonprofit organizations that are not required to disclose their donors. The report found that three-quarters of the total
dark money spending in elections from 2010 to 2016 came from only 15 groups, with the largest spender being the
U.S. Chamber of Commerce. The report received coverage in
USA Today, Issue One's subsequent analysis of dark money spending during the 2018 midterms found that liberal nonprofits had outspent conservative ones for the first time since 2010. In June 2020, Issue One released a report on potential foreign interference in U.S. elections, an issue the report described as a "national emergency" that Congress was not doing enough to prevent. Issue One also set up a website to study foreign threats. That same year, it identified the political donors who had spent the most in the six election cycles since the
Citizens United Supreme Court decision.
Key personnel Nick Penniman is Issue One's CEO. Whitney Hatch is chairman. Other board members include
Diana Aviv,
Carlos Curbelo,
Katie Fahey,
Dick Gephardt,
David Gerson, and
Tom Ridge. ==See also==