Matt Sinovic, ProgressIowa

*UPDATE: CLICK HERE TO READ THE REPORT RELEASED TODAY

Des Moines, Iowa — Local and national leaders will speak out on Tuesday, March 12th about the American Legislative Exchange Council, or ALEC, and its influence on Iowa’s legislative process. Lisa Graves, the executive director of the Center for Media and Democracy and publisher of ALECexposed.org, Senator Joe Bolkcom, chair of the national Progressive States Network, and Peter Fisher, research director for the Iowa Policy Project, will attend and participate on an expert panel about ALEC, a group that has been described as “stealth lobbyists” for its clandestine pursuit of a corporate agenda across the country.

In partnership with Center for Media and Democracy and Common Cause, the event will feature a screening of the Bill Moyers program “United States of ALEC” and a new research report entitled “ALEC Exposed in Iowa,” scheduled for release on Tuesday morning. Key findings in the report include:

• A detailed listing of the more than $500,000 in campaign donations from ALEC member corporations to ALEC members in Iowa, including more than $200,000 to Governor Terry Branstad, a founding member of ALEC.

• The secretive nature of ALEC’s taxpayer-funded membership in Iowa due to a lack of transparency in the Iowa legislature

• Examples of ALEC ‘model’ bills, written by and for corporate interests, then introduced by Iowa legislators

• Ongoing efforts to shed light on the influence of ALEC in Iowa

Iowa State Capitol, Room 22,  Des Moines, Iowa

Tuesday, March 12th, 12:00 – 1:00 PM

ALEC is a Washington DC based group funded almost entirely by corporations, big business associations, insurance companies, and the super-rich. ALEC was formed in 1973 by a group of conservative activists who came together to advance a national corporate agenda in state legislatures across the country. Among the founders of ALEC was now-Governor Terry Branstad.

ALEC is made up of more than 300 corporate and 2,000 legislative members, the overwhelming majority of them Republicans, who work outside of the public view to approve ‘model’ legislation to increase corporate profits at public expense and promote a conservative national agenda.

Contact Matt Sinovec, 515-423-0530