Tester Presented with Ethics and Transparency Trailblazer Award for Accountability Work in Senate

Inaugural award from End Citizens United recognizes Senator’s outstanding legislative efforts for increased transparency and accountability

Following years of legislative efforts and his work to hold himself to heightened ethical standards to promote transparency and accountability in government, U.S. Senator Jon Tester was awarded the inaugural Ethics and Transparency Trailblazer Award from End Citizens United – a leading grassroots organization fighting to protect democracy, crackdown on corruption in government, and get big money out of politics.

“I take my cues from the best bosses in the world, the people of Montana, not shady special interest groups or corporate lobbyists,”said Tester. “We’ve got to crack down on corruption in Washington and get big money out of our politics so that our government is accountable to hardworking Montana families, not massive corporations. That’s why I’m honored to receive this award from End Citizens United as we work together to increase accountability and transparency in government.”

“Since taking office, Senator Tester has been a trailblazer in the fight to make our government more transparent and accountable for working families,” said Tiffany Muller, president of End Citizens United // Let America Vote Action Fund. “He’s guided by a deep commitment to public service, ensuring the voices of hardworking Montanans are not drowned out by the corporate special interests. Senator Tester embodies Montana’s proud tradition of supporting good government and fair elections, and he’s been working vigorously to bring commonsense Montana values to the Senate. We’re proud to give Senator Tester our Ethics and Transparency Trailblazer Award and we look forward to working alongside him in the fight to protect our democracy.”  

End Citizens United chose Tester as their inaugural Senate honoree for this official award because of his consistent championing of government accountability measures, citing his efforts including:

• Introducing the Corporations Are Not People Amendment to overturn the harmful Citizens United decisions and get dark money out of politics;
• Introducing the Transparency in Congress Resolution to require Members of Congress to post their daily schedules online, including all events and meetings attended in their official capacity;
• Introducing the Close the Revolving Door Act to ban Members of Congress from ever becoming lobbyists;
• Introducing the Sunlight for Unaccountable Non-profits (SUN) Act to make public information about big money donors who give over $5,000 to certain tax-exempt groups that engage in political activity;
• Urging the SEC to require corporations to disclose how much they spend on lobbying;
• Leading the Freedom to Vote Act to protect the right to vote, get dark money out of politics, and protect election integrity; and
• Backing the Ending Trading and Holdings in Congressional Stocks (ETHICS) Act to ban congressional stock trading.

Tester has led the charge in fighting for increased transparency and accountability in government, and was the first Member of Congress to publicly post his schedule on his website starting in 2007 during his first term in the Senate. He has also fought tirelessly to remove dark money in politics and has been recognized as a champion for reform by campaign finance reform advocates, receiving top marks from the Sunlight Foundation for his fight to make Senate campaigns more transparent.

More information on Tester’s work to clean up campaign finance is available HERE.

Tester’s public schedule can be found HERE.