Center for Responsive Politics

Center for Responsive Politics
Founded 1983[1]
Founder Former U.S. Sens. Frank Church & Hugh Scott
Type Research
Focus Money in politics
Location
  • Washington, D.C.
Area served
 United States
Key people
 Sheila Krumholz, Executive Director
Slogan Money Talks. We Translate.
Website www.opensecrets.org

The Center for Responsive Politics (CRP) is a non-profit, nonpartisan[2][3] research group based in Washington, D.C. that tracks the effects of money and lobbying on elections and public policy. It maintains a public online database of its information.[4]

Its website, OpenSecrets.org, allows users to track federal campaign contributions and lobbying by lobbying firms, individual lobbyists, industry, federal agency, and bills. Other resources include the personal financial disclosures of all members of the U.S. Congress, the president, and top members of the administration. Users can also search by ZIP codes to learn how their neighbors are allocating their political contributions.

History

CRP was founded in 1983 by retired U.S. Senators Frank Church of Idaho, a Democrat, and Hugh Scott of Pennsylvania, a Republican.[1] In the 1980s, Church and Scott launched a "money-in-politics" project, whose outcome consisted of large, printed books. Their first book, published in 1988, analyzed spending patterns in congressional elections from 1974 through 1986, including 1986 soft money contributions in five states. It was titled Spending in Congressional Elections: A Never-Ending Spiral.[5]

Activities

In 1996, CRP launched its online counterpart, OpenSecrets.org. The website is a clearinghouse for data and analysis regarding money in politics.[1]

CRP hosts a Revolving Door database which documents the individuals who have passed between the public sector and K Street.[6]

The OpenSecrets Blog is the CRP's platform for original journalism.

Funding

Support for the Center comes from a combination of foundation grants, individual contributions and payments from custom research requests. Major donors include the Sunlight Foundation, the Pew Charitable Trusts, the Carnegie Corporation of New York, Open Society Institute, the Joyce Foundation, and the Ford Foundation. According to the organization's 2013 990 form, it had $1.56 million in revenue and $2.78 million in assets.[7]

Staff

Sheila Krumholz has been the CRP's executive director since December 2006, having previously served for eight years as the CRP's research director. She first joined the organization in 1989 and served as the assistant editor of the first edition of the printed volume Open Secrets.[8]

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Harvey, Kerric (2013). Encyclopedia of Social Media and Politics. Sage Publications. p. 252. ISBN 9781452290263.
  2. ↑ Ballhaus, Rebecca (February 1, 2015). "Ready for Hillary PAC Raised Nearly $9 Million in 2014". Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 4 February 2015.
  3. ↑ Crane, Michael (2004). The Political Junkie Handbook: The Definitive Reference Book on Politics. SP Books. p. 547. ISBN 9781561718917.
  4. ↑ "OpenSecrets: Mission". Center for Responsive Politics. 2014. Retrieved 2014-07-09.
  5. ↑ "Suggested Background Reading". Campaign Finance Information Center. Retrieved 4 February 2015.
  6. ↑ Wiist, William (2010). The Bottom Line or Public Health: Tactics Corporations Use to Influence Health and Health Policy, and What We Can Do to Counter Them. Oxford University Press. p. 149. ISBN 9780199704927.
  7. ↑ "2013 IRS Form 990" (PDF). GuideStar. Internal Revenue Service. Retrieved 4 February 2015.
  8. ↑ "Our Team". Center for Responsive Politics. Retrieved 4 February 2015.

External links