Report: Anonymous Companies Threaten American Interests

It is easier to form a corporation in the United States than it is to get a library card or driver’s license. Current law allows people or existing corporations to create new companies without requiring any information about the human owners of the businesses. A powerful new report by Global Witness details the threats these anonymous companies pose.

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One Year After Obstructionists Shut Down the Government: Where Are We Now?

Tomorrow, Oct. 1, marks one year since obstructionists in the House shut down the federal government. Approximately 800,000 federal workers stretching across the country were told not to report to work, and many public services ground to a halt.

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Happy National Voter Registration Day

Happy National Voter Registration Day from the Center for Effective Government!

Only about 40 percent of Americans vote in midterm elections – those that are in between presidential election years. This means each vote matters even more. Americans who show up to vote on November 4th, or mail in absentee ballots, will have their voices heard. This year, there’s no shortage of reasons to get out and vote.

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The Star-Spangled Banner is a Song Full of Questions

Early on the morning of Sept. 14, I joined several hundred fellow citizens, along with guests from Canada and the United Kingdom, inside Fort McHenry in Baltimore. We huddled in the chilly morning air in the dawn’s early light to remember the moment 200 years earlier when Francis Scott Key penned the first words of the poem that was to become our national anthem.

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50 Years of Federal Workers Investing in America's Charities

Federal workers help tens of thousands of people across the country, not just in their everyday work but with their generosity. In 1964, the first Combined Federal Campaign (CFC) was launched as an experiment. It raised $12.9 million dollars for charity (that’s $99 million in 2014 dollars). Today, 50 years after that experiment, the CFC raises a staggering $282.6 million for nonprofit organizations, allowing federal workers' payroll contributions to change lives and transform communities, throughout the U.S. and around the world.

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Support Those Who Support Us: Let Your Dollar Be Your Vote for Responsible Corporate Taxpayers

Over the last month, American consumers have sent a strong message to companies thinking about abandoning the U.S. and moving offshore: if you stop supporting the U.S. by avoiding taxes, we’ll stop supporting you and shop elsewhere.

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House Majority’s Last-Ditch Effort to Undermine Public Protections, Award Corporate Giveaways

With only a few workdays remaining in the current congressional session, House leaders have yet to address many important proposals. However, instead of focusing on the nation’s top priorities, the House majority plans to press ahead with its anti-regulatory, pro-industry agenda.

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Unfinished Business in the 113th Congress: Whose Interests are Your Representatives Working For?

Champions in Congress are pushing for bills that would help millions of people, but industry lobbyists and their allies in the House and Senate are obstructing progress on these commonsense measures. Instead, they're clamoring for more corporate tax cuts, the elimination of environmental protections, and the erosion of worker safeguards.

With only days left for the 113th Congress to address a menu of priorities before the midterm elections, here are some of the issues that everyone should ask his or her representatives to address:

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32 Firms That Renounced America Paid CEOs $439 Million Last Year

A trickle has turned into a torrent. Burger King’s announcement last week that it would buy Canadian donut darling, Tim Horton’s, and then move the merged corporation to Canada represents the 13th such deal announced this year. Most companies pursuing these “corporate inversions” have abandoned America for the express purpose of lowering their U.S. tax bills.

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A Taxing Double Standard: Americans with Troubled Mortgages Penalized While Scofflaw Banks Enjoy Tax Breaks

In early August, Bank of America agreed to a $16.65 billion settlement, which includes funds for “consumer relief.” However, after tax write-offs and deductions, Bank of America's net penalty could be less than $15 billion.

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