Why does the Sunlight Foundation exist?
Quite simply, concern about the influence of money, lobbying and political relationships, as well as a fear of corruption in Congress, reached crisis levels in 2005, with 75% of the voters in the last congressional election saying it motivated their voting. In August 2007, public approval ratings of Congress reached an all-time low, with just 18% of Americans approving of the job Congress is doing, according to a Gallup poll. But until Sunlight’s founding, there was no organization fully committed to enhancing the electronic disclosure of congressional activity on the Internet, and thus, engage citizens in an effective dialogue with their members of Congress. To provide that access, the Sunlight Foundation is utilizing information technology and the revolutionary power of the Internet to make millions of bits of information available online about the members of Congress, their staff, and lobbyists. This information includes political contributions and expenditures, lobbyists expenditur
