HOME

OBAMA ON THE ISSUES

CONGRESS ON THE ISSUES

MY REPORT CARD

NEWSGOPHER

OUR BLOG

MORE...

VoteGopher | Compare McCain and Obama | Government Reform

Issue Homepage - Government Reform

PRESIDENT OBAMA: ACTIONS IN OFFICE

Signed omnibus budget bill containing $7 billion in earmarks, but announced earmark reform guidelines for next year's budget
Those guidelines included online listing of all earmark requests in advance and subjecting private company earmarks to competitive bidding
Instituted new ethics rules that prevent former staffers from lobbying the administration and make current lobbyists wait two years before working for the White House
Has faced criticism for waiving these restrictions for certain nominees
Says new Budget Director Peter Orszag will develop new guidelines for government contracts to strengthen oversight and cut costs

CANDIDATE OBAMA ELECTION 2008
Supported expanding public financing and applying it to Congressional races Declined public financing for general election Sponsored reform to make lobbying and earmarks transparent Refused lobbyist and PAC campaign contributions More...

REPUBLICANS IN CONGRESS
Leaders support cuts in earmark spending and increased transparency for Congressional appropriations Most oppose public financing of federal elections Most oppose legislation requiring a paper trail for all votes in federal elections, calling such proposals too expensive More...

DEMOCRATS IN CONGRESS
Appropriations Committee Chairmen will now require online posting of all earmark requests and have pledged to cut earmark spending in half Some support public financing of Senate elections, but they have not made progress in this effort Most support requiring a paper trail for all votes in federal elections More...

MY REPORT CARD

On Government Reform:

ISSUE BACKGROUND

Click a subtopic for more information.

See All

Loading...

VoteGopher is your one-stop, non-partisan election resource, created by young voters to focus on the issues.

Our recommended web developer