As the saying goes, foxes don’t make the best guards for the chicken coop. That logic may also apply when it comes to politicians regulating money in politics. Burlington Free Press political reporter Terri Hallenbeck wrote a story last week that concluded with this statement: “It struck me that elected officials are the last people …
Act Now: Curb the influence of money in politics! Read More »
NEWS RELEASE Montpelier, VT – Vermont received a “C+” when it comes to government spending transparency, according to “Following the Money 2013: How the States Rank on Providing Online Access to Government Spending Data,” the fourth annual report of its kind by a federation of public interest research groups that includes the Vermont Public Interest Research …
When the Senate Government Operations Committee initially contemplated dramatically raising the contribution limits to candidates and political action committees, VPIRG organized a response that also included the LWV-VT and Ben Cohen. After threatening to oppose the bill, the committee reconsidered its position and ended up with limits much closer to those VPIRG suggested. The limits …
More sensible campaign contribution limits move forward Read More »
Some of Vermont’s most well-known advocates for campaign finance reform took issue today with a proposed bill in the state Senate that would dramatically increase the amount of money in Vermont’s political campaigns. The Senate Government Operations Committee has been working all year on legislation – S.82 – that would require increased reporting from political …
Senate bill criticized for opening the flood gates to campaign cash Read More »
In communities across Vermont, citizens are bringing solutions to town. Whether its town meeting resolutions to keep Vermont free of tar sands oil or spreading critical information about upcoming changes to health care, check to see what’s on the docket in your community.
“There is now an infrastructure of outside groups and activists that has shown the ability to mobilize at least some public concern about an extremely arcane problem, dramatizing the need for better governance and the dangerous consequences of having a Senate that has functionally ceased to be a democratic body.” Find out what’s next on …
Health Care | Environmental Health | Clean Energy Democracy | Consumer Protection (Click one of these categories to skip to a specific section.) Health Care Health Care for All, and Keeping Our Eyes on the Prize For years, Vermont has been a leader in making health care accessible and affordable. Our long term goal is a …
Stop Secret Elections Spending Last November’s federal election was the most expensive in our nation’s history. Why? One big reason is the rise of the Super PACs, made possible by recent misguided U.S. Supreme Court decisions, including Citizens United. Even in Vermont, a Super PAC–funded almost entirely by a single individual–spent over $1 million to …
As Election Day rapidly approaches, Vermont Public Interest Research Group’s 2011-2012 Legislative Scorecard provides real data on how legislators voted on public interest issues. As the state’s largest consumer and environmental advocacy organization, VPIRG is involved in a broad range of policy debates in Montpelier, from health care reform to banning fracking. The 2011-2012 Legislative Scorecard tracks …
Vermont’s campaign finance system is being corrupted in an unprecedented way by the spending of a single individual this year. “Vermonters are seeing first-hand the kind of corruption that the Supreme Court has invited with its recent campaign finance decisions,” said Paul Burns, executive director of VPIRG. So-called Super PACs are now allowed to raise …
