Press Conference and Petition Delivery In Front of the White House; Citizens Urge Obama to Require Government Contractors to Disclose Political Spending
March 27, 2015
MEDIA ADVISORY
Press Conference and Petition Delivery In Front of the White House; Citizens Urge Obama to Require Government Contractors to Disclose Political Spending
Photo Op: Activists Use 15-Foot Inflatable Flashlight to Call for an Executive Order to Shine Light on Corporate Corruption and End Pay-to-Play
WHAT: Press conference calling on President Barack Obama to issue an executive order requiring contractors that do business with the government to disclose their political spending.
At the event, activists will gather in front of the White House with a 15-foot prop flashlight. Speakers will explain how an executive order can shine light on corporate corruption and help curb money in politics. Organizers will present more than 500,000 petition signatures calling for an executive order.
As part of a nationwide movement, rallies and other events are scheduled to be held in more than 50 towns, in 29 states, throughout the country. Events range from a street festival in New Orleans, Louisiana, to a rally on a pier filled with beachgoers in Clearwater, Florida, to a peaceful vigil in Leesburg, Virginia, to student-led protests on California, Maryland and Minnesota college campuses, to events featuring everyone from members of Congress to Ben Cohen, co-founder of Ben & Jerry’s.
Americans are fed up with the current system, in which corporations that bid for government contracts do not have to disclose their campaign spending. This has led to a corrupt pay-to-play system in which government contractors can secretly funnel untold sums to help elect the very same lawmakers who are responsible for awarding government contracts.
However, the solution does not require an act of Congress. Obama has the authority to fix the problem with the stroke of a pen. By signing an executive order, contractors would have to disclose their political spending and citizens would be able to see which elected officials are getting the greatest contributions from contractors.
The events are taking place on or near April 2, which marks the one-year anniversary of the McCutcheon U.S. Supreme Court ruling that further flooded the election system with unprecedented contributions from corporations and the super-wealthy.
WHEN: Noon, April 2
WHERE: In front of the White House, 1600 Pennsylvania Ave., NW, Washington, D.C.
WHO: Lisa Gilbert, director, Public Citizen’s Congress Watch division
Greg Moore, executive director of the NAACP National Voter Fund
Michele Jawando, vice president of legal progress, Center for American Progress
Courtney Hight, director of Sierra Club’s Democracy Program
Diallo Brooks, director of outreach and partner engagement, People For the American Way
Mark Dimondstein, president, American Postal Workers Union
VISUALS: Signs and a prop flashlight to shine the light on corporate corruption.
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