The Reform Institute
Encyclopedia
The Reform Institute is a non-partisan, not-for-profit think tank
based in Alexandria, VA that describes itself as centrist oriented. According to its website it is an “organization working to strengthen the foundations of our democracy and build a resilient society. The Institute formulates and advocates valuable, solutions-based reform in vital areas of public policy.”
The major policy areas the institute focuses on are energy and environmental policy, homeland and national security, economic opportunity and competitiveness, immigration reform, and governance and election reform. It states its vision as “to build a more resilient nation that is able to overcome the challenges we collectively face and emerge as a stronger country. A resilient nation requires: a fully transparent and accountable government, a citizenry that is actively engaged in the political process and has genuine access to the wealth of opportunities that the free market has to offer, and institutions and infrastructure capable of facilitating and taking full advantage of the ingenuity and determination of the American people by promoting private sector innovation.”
The Institute was criticized during the 2000 decade as an extension of Senator John McCain's political ambitions.. The New York Times described the Institute in this fashion: "In a small office a few miles from Capitol Hill, a handful of top advisers to Senator John McCain run a quiet campaign. They promote his crusade against special interest money in politics. They send out news releases promoting his initiatives. And they raise money--hundreds of thousands of dollars, tapping some McCain backers for more than $50,000 each."
practices such as unlimited and undisclosed “soft money” donations. The initial bipartisan honorary co-chairs of the institute’s Advisory Committee were Senator John McCain
(R-AZ) and former Senator Robert Kerrey (D-NE). Senator McCain served in the position from 2001-2005. Senator Kerrey was associated with the committee until 2008.
The institute was a part of the broad coalition that successfully secured passage of the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act of 2002 – also known as McCain-Feingold – the campaign finance reform
legislation that among other things prohibited soft money contributions. The Institute then turned its focus to defending the law against Constitutional challenge and ensuring that it was properly enforced by advocating for the restructuring of the Federal Election Commission
(FEC) and calling for regulation of 527 groups operating outside the law’s soft money ban.
In addition to its work at the federal level, the institute also engaged in efforts at the state and local level to enact reforms including initiatives on public campaign funding of state and local elections, redistricting reform to eliminate Gerrymandering
of electoral districts, ballot access
, open primaries, and election administration and voter assistance.
After passage of the McCain-Feingold bill the Institute expanded its agenda to other public policy areas. However, as of April, 2011, its web page was no longer active and links to it were broken. The Institute did not file form 990 with the Internal Revenue Service for 2009.
field the institute has articulated the need for resilience
– the ability to withstand and quickly recover from a catastrophic event – to be given equal weight to preventing terrorist attacks in U.S. homeland security policy. It convened a March 2008 national symposium on the subject in New York City and has advanced the concept in Congressional testimony and publications.
On immigration
the institute has advocated for comprehensive immigration reform – reasoning that balancing security and enforcement with meeting the workforce and economic needs of the country are the best way to fix the nation’s broken immigration system. In 2007 the institute partnered with Brickfish in an online contest to draw attention to the issue by encouraging entrants to express the message they thought the border fence conveyed by virtually designing a portion of it. The viral campaign was recognized by Forrester Research with its Groundswell Award for Social Impact.
The institute’s political reform work has included endorsing the successful California Proposition 11 (2008)
redistricting ballot initiative, partnering in a national voter assistance hotline in 2008, warning of the threats to judicial independence of the rising sums being raised and spent in judicial elections, supporting public campaign financing initiatives in states like Maryland, Hawaii and Wisconsin, and offering recommendations for Congressional reform.
The institute’s energy and environment program includes helping make the smart grid a reality and promoting the need for comprehensive energy reform through an April 2009 national symposium in Washington, DC and publications.
The Reform Institute is led by Executive Director Cecilia I. Martinez
. Its Board of Directors is chaired by Paul Bateman of the Klein & Saks Group and includes Charles Kolb of the Committee for Economic Development
, Lawrence Hebert of the Dominion Advisory Group and political consultant Pam Pryor.
The institute’s Advisory Committee consists of many academics, corporate executives and policy makers who help to guide the organization’s policy program. Notable members of the Advisory Committee include Senator Lindsey Graham
(R-SC), former Senator David Boren (D-OK), former Congressman Charles Bass (R-NH), Timothy Farrell of Bank of America
, Marie Royce of Alcatel-Lucent
, Marc Spitzer of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission
, Matthew Freedman of Global Impact, Inc., Don Murphy of Genn & Murphy, LLC, Robert Kelly of CenTauri Solutions, LLC, Ken Nahigian of Nahigian Strategies, LLC, Dan Ortiz of the University of Virginia School of Law, Thomas Mann
of the Brookings Institution
, and Norman Ornstein of the American Enterprise Institute
.
Think tank
A think tank is an organization that conducts research and engages in advocacy in areas such as social policy, political strategy, economics, military, and technology issues. Most think tanks are non-profit organizations, which some countries such as the United States and Canada provide with tax...
based in Alexandria, VA that describes itself as centrist oriented. According to its website it is an “organization working to strengthen the foundations of our democracy and build a resilient society. The Institute formulates and advocates valuable, solutions-based reform in vital areas of public policy.”
The major policy areas the institute focuses on are energy and environmental policy, homeland and national security, economic opportunity and competitiveness, immigration reform, and governance and election reform. It states its vision as “to build a more resilient nation that is able to overcome the challenges we collectively face and emerge as a stronger country. A resilient nation requires: a fully transparent and accountable government, a citizenry that is actively engaged in the political process and has genuine access to the wealth of opportunities that the free market has to offer, and institutions and infrastructure capable of facilitating and taking full advantage of the ingenuity and determination of the American people by promoting private sector innovation.”
The Institute was criticized during the 2000 decade as an extension of Senator John McCain's political ambitions.. The New York Times described the Institute in this fashion: "In a small office a few miles from Capitol Hill, a handful of top advisers to Senator John McCain run a quiet campaign. They promote his crusade against special interest money in politics. They send out news releases promoting his initiatives. And they raise money--hundreds of thousands of dollars, tapping some McCain backers for more than $50,000 each."
Background
The Reform Institute was launched in 2001 and grew from the movement to challenge campaign financeCampaign finance
Campaign finance refers to all funds that are raised and spent in order to promote candidates, parties or policies in some sort of electoral contest. In modern democracies such funds are not necessarily devoted to election campaigns. Issue campaigns in referendums, party activities and party...
practices such as unlimited and undisclosed “soft money” donations. The initial bipartisan honorary co-chairs of the institute’s Advisory Committee were Senator John McCain
John McCain
John Sidney McCain III is the senior United States Senator from Arizona. He was the Republican nominee for president in the 2008 United States election....
(R-AZ) and former Senator Robert Kerrey (D-NE). Senator McCain served in the position from 2001-2005. Senator Kerrey was associated with the committee until 2008.
The institute was a part of the broad coalition that successfully secured passage of the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act of 2002 – also known as McCain-Feingold – the campaign finance reform
Campaign finance reform
Campaign finance reform is the common term for the political effort in the United States to change the involvement of money in politics, primarily in political campaigns....
legislation that among other things prohibited soft money contributions. The Institute then turned its focus to defending the law against Constitutional challenge and ensuring that it was properly enforced by advocating for the restructuring of the Federal Election Commission
Federal Election Commission
The Federal Election Commission is an independent regulatory agency that was founded in 1975 by the United States Congress to regulate the campaign finance legislation in the United States. It was created in a provision of the 1975 amendment to the Federal Election Campaign Act...
(FEC) and calling for regulation of 527 groups operating outside the law’s soft money ban.
In addition to its work at the federal level, the institute also engaged in efforts at the state and local level to enact reforms including initiatives on public campaign funding of state and local elections, redistricting reform to eliminate Gerrymandering
Gerrymandering
In the process of setting electoral districts, gerrymandering is a practice that attempts to establish a political advantage for a particular party or group by manipulating geographic boundaries to create partisan, incumbent-protected districts...
of electoral districts, ballot access
Ballot access
Ballot access rules, called nomination rules outside the United States, regulate the conditions under which a candidate or political party is either entitled to stand for election or to appear on voters' ballots...
, open primaries, and election administration and voter assistance.
After passage of the McCain-Feingold bill the Institute expanded its agenda to other public policy areas. However, as of April, 2011, its web page was no longer active and links to it were broken. The Institute did not file form 990 with the Internal Revenue Service for 2009.
Recent initiatives
In the homeland securityHomeland security
Homeland security is an umbrella term for security efforts to protect states against terrorist activity. Specifically, is a concerted national effort to prevent terrorist attacks within the U.S., reduce America’s vulnerability to terrorism, and minimize the damage and recover from attacks that do...
field the institute has articulated the need for resilience
Resilience
Resilience is the property of a material to absorb energy when it is deformed elastically and then, upon unloading to have this energy recovered. In other words, it is the maximum energy per unit volume that can be elastically stored...
– the ability to withstand and quickly recover from a catastrophic event – to be given equal weight to preventing terrorist attacks in U.S. homeland security policy. It convened a March 2008 national symposium on the subject in New York City and has advanced the concept in Congressional testimony and publications.
On immigration
Immigration
Immigration is the act of foreigners passing or coming into a country for the purpose of permanent residence...
the institute has advocated for comprehensive immigration reform – reasoning that balancing security and enforcement with meeting the workforce and economic needs of the country are the best way to fix the nation’s broken immigration system. In 2007 the institute partnered with Brickfish in an online contest to draw attention to the issue by encouraging entrants to express the message they thought the border fence conveyed by virtually designing a portion of it. The viral campaign was recognized by Forrester Research with its Groundswell Award for Social Impact.
The institute’s political reform work has included endorsing the successful California Proposition 11 (2008)
California Proposition 11 (2008)
Proposition 11 of 2008 was a law enacted by California voters that placed the power to draw electoral boundaries for State Assembly and State Senate districts in a Citizens Redistricting Commission, as opposed to the State Legislature. To do this the Act amended both the Constitution of California...
redistricting ballot initiative, partnering in a national voter assistance hotline in 2008, warning of the threats to judicial independence of the rising sums being raised and spent in judicial elections, supporting public campaign financing initiatives in states like Maryland, Hawaii and Wisconsin, and offering recommendations for Congressional reform.
The institute’s energy and environment program includes helping make the smart grid a reality and promoting the need for comprehensive energy reform through an April 2009 national symposium in Washington, DC and publications.
The Reform Institute is led by Executive Director Cecilia I. Martinez
Cecilia I. Martinez
Cecilia I. Martinez is the Executive Director of The Reform Institute.Since January 2003, Cecilia Martinez has served as the Executive Director of The Reform Institute a nonprofit educational organization based in Alexandria, Virginia that represents a unique, independent voice working to...
. Its Board of Directors is chaired by Paul Bateman of the Klein & Saks Group and includes Charles Kolb of the Committee for Economic Development
Committee for Economic Development
The Committee for Economic Development is an independent, non-profit, non-partisan think tank based in Washington, DC. Its membership consists of some 200 senior corporate executives and university leaders...
, Lawrence Hebert of the Dominion Advisory Group and political consultant Pam Pryor.
The institute’s Advisory Committee consists of many academics, corporate executives and policy makers who help to guide the organization’s policy program. Notable members of the Advisory Committee include Senator Lindsey Graham
Lindsey Graham
Lindsey Olin Graham is the senior U.S. Senator from South Carolina and a member of the Republican Party. Previously he served as the U.S. Representative for .-Early life, education and career:...
(R-SC), former Senator David Boren (D-OK), former Congressman Charles Bass (R-NH), Timothy Farrell of Bank of America
Bank of America
Bank of America Corporation, an American multinational banking and financial services corporation, is the second largest bank holding company in the United States by assets, and the fourth largest bank in the U.S. by market capitalization. The bank is headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina...
, Marie Royce of Alcatel-Lucent
Alcatel-Lucent
Alcatel-Lucent is a global telecommunications corporation, headquartered in the 7th arrondissement of Paris, France. It provides telecommunications solutions to service providers, enterprises, and governments around the world, enabling these customers to deliver voice, data, and video services...
, Marc Spitzer of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission
Federal Energy Regulatory Commission
The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission is the United States federal agency with jurisdiction over interstate electricity sales, wholesale electric rates, hydroelectric licensing, natural gas pricing, and oil pipeline rates...
, Matthew Freedman of Global Impact, Inc., Don Murphy of Genn & Murphy, LLC, Robert Kelly of CenTauri Solutions, LLC, Ken Nahigian of Nahigian Strategies, LLC, Dan Ortiz of the University of Virginia School of Law, Thomas Mann
Thomas Mann
Thomas Mann was a German novelist, short story writer, social critic, philanthropist, essayist, and 1929 Nobel Prize laureate, known for his series of highly symbolic and ironic epic novels and novellas, noted for their insight into the psychology of the artist and the intellectual...
of the Brookings Institution
Brookings Institution
The Brookings Institution is a nonprofit public policy organization based in Washington, D.C., in the United States. One of Washington's oldest think tanks, Brookings conducts research and education in the social sciences, primarily in economics, metropolitan policy, governance, foreign policy, and...
, and Norman Ornstein of the American Enterprise Institute
American Enterprise Institute
The American Enterprise Institute for Public Policy Research is a conservative think tank founded in 1943. Its stated mission is "to defend the principles and improve the institutions of American freedom and democratic capitalism—limited government, private enterprise, individual liberty and...
.
- Key Reform Institute Staff and Advisors
- Cecilia I. MartinezCecilia I. MartinezCecilia I. Martinez is the Executive Director of The Reform Institute.Since January 2003, Cecilia Martinez has served as the Executive Director of The Reform Institute a nonprofit educational organization based in Alexandria, Virginia that represents a unique, independent voice working to...
, Executive Director - Robert W. Kelly, Senior Advisor, Homeland and National Security Center
- Kenneth Nahigian, Senior Advisor, Center for Energy and Environmental Progress
- Dan Ortiz, Legal Advisor
- Chris Dreibelbis, Communications and Economic Policy Director
- Sarah Lieu, Director of Operations and Events