The Center for Responsive Politics is a research and public education organization that documents the source of federal campaign dollars from a wide spectrum of industries and interest groups to elected officials. Since its founding in 1983, the Center has published more than three dozen reports, monographs and books on issues ranging from congressional ethics, the role of money in federal politics to the dynamics between Congress and the news media. It is a major source of information for journalists, academics, grassroots organizers and the public at large. The Center, while not a lobbying organization, has testified before Congress on closing "soft money" and other key campaign finance loopholes, and on matters pertaining to the Federal Election Commission. Its most recent publication was Open Secrets: The Encyclopedia of Congressional Money and Politics and a 1,500 page analysis of individual and PAC contributions in the 1994 election.
