Our student loan system is broken, and Sallie Mae, the largest private profiteer off the debt crisis, is lobbying to keep it that way. Until recently, Sallie was part of the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC), the corporate front group that pushes cookie-cutter model bills through state houses across the nation. But in the wake of publicity about Sallie’s lobbying and a demonstration by Common Cause activists at the company’s annual shareholder meeting last May, Sallie Mae has severed ties with ALEC.
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Sallie Mae is the 50th corporation to leave ALEC since Common Cause and other progressive groups began exposing ALEC’s systematic attempts to put private profit ahead of the public interest. And while ALEC is far from finished, neither are we. The IRS is reviewing our whistleblower complaint challenging ALEC’s tax-exempt status and demanding that ALEC play by the rules that other lobby groups have to follow. We’re also hosting screenings of Bill Moyers' documentary "The United States of ALEC" to build grassroots energy across the state.
We're proud, but we can't afford to rest on our laurels.
As our 2011 " Open Delaware" report noted, a loophole in state law that lets lobbyists keep their compensation secret means over 80% of lobbying expenditures are never disclosed.
P.S. We've just published our Fall 2013 newsletter -- read it here!
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