Press Releases

WASHINGTON, DC – Today, Congresswoman Lori Trahan (MA-03) joined Representatives Max Rose (NY-11) and Katie Porter (CA-45) to announce along with fellow Freshmen Members of Congress and End Citizens United Action Fund a new Congressional caucus, End Corruption. This group of Members, who have been leaders in taking on corruption in Washington—including helping pass the most sweeping effort in a generation in the For the People Act (H.R. 1)—are banding together to continue their fight to take political power from corrupt special interests and put it back on the side of working Americans.

“As we approach the 10 year anniversary of Citizens United, I was proud to join with Representatives Porter and Rose; my other freshman colleagues; and End Citizens United President Tiffany Muller to announce End Corruption—a new group in Congress focused on fighting for critical campaign finance reforms,” Rep. Lori Trahan (MA-03) said. “I’ve been in this fight since I was a staffer on Capitol Hill nearly 25 years ago. It was then I first learned that only after we tackle campaign finance could we truly do the work our constituents sent us here to do. In the last year House Democrats have advanced landmark reforms, but there's so much work left to be done. This group will continue to harness the power of this class, and to push back on monied special interests that have tipped the scales away from working people for too long.”

“Starting from Day 1, we’ve been focused on sending a clear, unmistakable message to the American people: that we are here to fight for them and only them—not the special interests and corporate PACs,” said Rep. Max Rose (NY-11), Co-Chair of End Corruption. “I’m proud to bring together so many of my colleagues with Congresswoman Katie Porter to form End Corruption, because from fighting to ban corporate PACs, close lobbyist loopholes, increase transparency and kick the special interests out of the halls of Congress, we won’t stop in our efforts to put government back on the side of working people.”

“For too long, corporate special interest money has been allowed to drown out the voices of everyday Americans in our political process,” said Rep. Katie Porter (CA-45), Co-Chair of End Corruption. “I promised Orange County families that I would go to work for them, not sell my vote to the highest bidder. I’m proud to stand shoulder to shoulder with my colleague Max Rose to launch End Corruption and to get Washington back on the side of the families we’re supposed to represent.”

End Corruption will work to support ambitious legislative items to: keep dark money, corporate PACs, and special interests out of our democracy; ensure accountability in all branches of government through transparent, regular reporting; prohibit foreign bad actors from interfering in our elections; stop Big Pharma from buying the right to poison our communities; and instill hope into every American that we are here to fight this corrupt system.

“I’m proud to be a member of the newly-formed End Corruption caucus and join my colleagues in fighting the status quo of a broken Washington where special interests hold up good legislation and stop commonsense fixes to outdated laws,” Rep. Cindy Axne (IA-03) said. “I ran for office to take on dark money, lobbyists, and any special interest group that stands in the way of good solutions for Iowa—and have introduced legislation to bring transparency and accountability to Washington. I look forward to working with the End Corruption caucus to advance these and other bills to clean up Washington.”

“It’s far past time we return our government to the people and restore accountability and transparency to Washington. Dark money and special interests have clouded our democracy, and the disastrous Citizens United Supreme Court ruling has only amplified the corruption. Instead of power for the American people, it’s been power for the few,” Rep. Gil Cisneros (CA-39) said. “I came to D.C. to fix this broken system and fight for my constituents. Today, I’m proud to join my freshmen colleagues in launching the End Corruption caucus and put power back to where it belongs, the American people.”

“Washington is a disgusting cesspool, and everyone knows it. It’s time to take a sledgehammer to the dark money special interests in this town – and that’s what our new group is focusing on,” Rep. Josh Harder (CA-10) said. “This is a gateway issue to getting things done on any of our other priorities. Pharmaceutical companies own Mitch McConnell and that’s why he won’t move our bill to lower drug costs. And that’s just the tip of the iceberg. It’s time to clean this place up.”

“I ran for Congress to end the culture of corruption in Washington so that we can finally tackle the defining issues of our time, like the climate crisis, without coal and oil lobbyists corrupting our political process,” Rep. Mike Levin (CA-49) said. “That's why one of the first bills I supported in Congress was the For The People Act, a transformative package of reforms that will return political power to the people. Under this President, the swamp is worse than it has ever been, I look forward to tackling that corruption with my colleagues in this caucus.”

“There is nothing more unifying or more bipartisan to the American people than opposition to corruption,” Rep. Tom Malinowski (NJ-07) said. “We passed bill after bill in the House this past year to protect our elections from foreign interference and get dark money out of our politics, but the Senate has refused to act. I’m confident that we will pass these bills, whether in this Congress, or in the one we elect by running against corruption this year.”

“Since the day they arrived in Washington, Representatives Max Rose and Katie Porter have tackled corruption head-on,” said Tiffany Muller, President of End Citizens United Action Fund. “From helping to pass the most sweeping anti-corruption and government ethics reform bill since Watergate to now introducing the End Corruption caucus, Rose and Porter are changing the way Washington works. End Citizens United Action Fund thanks Representatives Rose and Porter for their leadership, and we look forward to working alongside End Corruption to make our democracy work for all Americans,”

Following their call for Congressional leaders to make anti-corruption reforms a priority in the new Congress, freshmen Members of Congress helped lead the fight in passing H.R. 1, the most sweeping anti-corruption legislation in a generation which will put the power back in the hands of the American people by ending the dominance of big money in politics and ensuring politicians actually serve the public interest by reigning in the power of federal lobbyists and corporate PACs.

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