Recent Survey Findings on Ethics Reform and Increased Transparency in Congress

May 8, 2006

Contact: Gabriela Schneider 202-742-1520 ext 236

To:       Interested Parties

 

From:  The Sunlight Foundation, Lake Research Partners and The Tarrance Group

 

Date:    April 26, 2006

 

Re:       Recent Survey Findings on Ethics Reform and Increased Transparency in Congress[1]

 

Voters nationwide believe that too little has been done in Washington to reform lobbying and disclosure laws for Congress. Solid majorities across the political spectrum support reform proposals for increased transparency.  And voters - particularly swing voters - are more likely to vote for candidates who support these proposals.

 

• A strong plurality of voters (41 percent) believe that Congress has not gone far enough with ethics reform. Just 9 percent of voters believe Congress has gone too far and 27 percent think Congress is about right in its reform efforts. Twenty-three percent of voters don't know.

o       The sense that Congress has not done enough is even stronger among swing voters.  In fact, over half of all independent voters (52 percent) say Congress has not gone far enough to reform the system.

o       Also more likely to favor more reforms are men (46 percent) and voters from the Northeast (47 percent).

 

• Solid majorities of voters across the country favor reform proposals, with support traversing all major political and demographic lines.

o       On a scale from zero to ten, all seven proposals get between 59 percent and 76 percent of the electorate rating each as a six or higher.

o       Majorities of Democrats, Republicans, and independents as well as voters in every region of the country rate all of these proposals as at least a six.  Rarely do we see issues that bring together such disparate constituencies.

 

• The table on the following page rank orders the various proposals in terms of their popularity among voters. The most popular proposals include: requiring public disclosure of all money raised for a campaign by registered lobbyists (76 percent rate this a six or higher) and creating an independent ethics commission to review complaints, conduct investigations, and report on unethical conduct by lawmakers and their staffs (75 percent six or higher).

 

• Just behind are proposals requiring public disclosure of any attempts to secure earmarks in budget bills that directly benefit lobbyists or campaign contributors (68 percent give this a six or higher), requiring lawmakers to file reports on legislation they have introduced that would benefit their campaign contributors (65 percent six or higher), requiring public disclosure of all contacts with regulatory agencies pressing for action that benefits campaign contributors (65 percent six or higher), requiring lawmakers to report publicly all of their contacts with lobbyists (65 percent six or higher), and prohibiting former members of Congress and senior staff from working as lobbyists in Washington for five years after they leave Congress (59 percent six or higher).

 

 

76%          52%

                                                         

Please rate each proposal on a scale of 0 to 10 on how strongly you support that proposal, with 0 meaning you do not support the proposal at all, 5 being neutral, and 10 meaning you totally support the proposal.
	ALL SUPPORT
	% "6-10"	% "10"
7. Require candidates to publicly disclose on the internet all money raised for a campaign by registered lobbyists.	5. Create an independent ethics commission that will review complaints, conduct investigations, and report on unethical conduct by lawmakers and their staffs.	75%	47%
4. Require lawmakers to publicly disclose when they are trying to secure earmarks in budget bills that directly benefit lobbyists or campaign contributors, on the internet on a weekly basis.	68%	41%
8. Require lawmakers to file a report on any legislation or amendment they have introduced that would benefit any of their campaign contributors, on the internet on a weekly basis.	65%	42%
6. Require lawmakers to publicly report all contacts and correspondence with regulatory agencies pressing for action that benefits their campaign contributors, on the internet on a weekly basis.	65%	37%
3. Require lawmakers to publicly report all of their contacts with lobbyists, on the internet on a weekly basis.	65%	37%
9. Prohibit former members of Congress and senior Congressional staffers from working as lobbyists in Washington for five years after they leave Congress.	59%	39%

 

• Ethics reform is an issue that voters take seriously and one that they intend to factor into their vote choice this November. Greater than half of all registered voters (53 percent) are more likely to vote for a candidate who supports the above reform proposals, with 33 percent much more likely to support such a candidate.

o This is even more true among independent voters, a key constituency for candidates and campaigns, particularly this election year.  Fully 58 percent of independents are more likely to vote for a candidate who supports these reform proposals, and 38 percent are much more likely.

 

For further information, please contact:

 

Ellen S. Miller Executive Director The Sunlight Foundation 202-742-1520 emiller@sunlightfoundation.com

Daniel Gotoff Partner Lake Research Partners 202-776-9066 dgotoff@lakeresearch.com

Brian Nienaber Vice President The Tarrance Group 703-684-6688 bnienaber@tarrance.com

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[1] Lake Research Partners and The Tarrance Group designed this survey on behalf of the Sunlight Foundation.  It was conducted by telephone using professional interviewers.  The survey reached 716 adults nationwide, 18 years or older, who indicated they are registered to vote.  The survey was conducted in April, 2006.  Telephone numbers for the sample were generated through a random digit selection to ensure a random distribution of voters throughout the country. The data was weighted slightly by race and party identification to ensure that it accurately reflects the voting population of the United States. The margin of error for this survey is +/-3.7%.