Council for Government Reform

In 1991, the Council for Government Reform (CGR) incorporated as a 501c4 corporation in the District of Columbia. However, in 1983, the CGR began as the National Center for Privatization (NCP) "launched by Willard Garvey and other Wichita, Kansas businessmen who began a volunteer effort to educate Americans about the then-new concept of "privatization."" The original McLean, Virginia, headquarters for the NPR, after becoming the CGR, "moved to Capitol Hill and now to Arlington, Virginia."

The NCP "recruited more than 50 persons prominent in the privatization effort nationwide for its new Advisory Board [and] began fruitful cooperation between NCP and numerous other organizations: Reason Foundation, Citizens for a Sound Economy, the National Center for Policy Analysis, Advocates for Self-Government, Competitive Enterprise Institute, and the Cato Institute." In 1985, the NCP created "a database of literature on privatization, [which] is now being maintained by the Reason Foundation's Local Government Center."

"In the late 1980s, the [NCP] published books on privatization successes in the U.S. and acted as a facilitator for private companies wanting to work with government to privatize services."

The Council developed "a very strong direct lobbying program which has included making visits to hundreds of congressional offices and identifying everyone interested in (or resistant to) Social Security reform. ... The number of grassroots supporters around the country has also continued to grow, with direct mail public education, grassroots lobbying and fundraising reaching annual all time highs in terms of volume. In the Spring of 1998, the Council's Board of Directors appointed Charles G. Hardin as President and CEO of CGR

The Council claims "nearly 500,000 supporters and produces millions of letters, newsletters, and booklets each year responding to its members and prospective members throughout the country on the concerns that they and others have about the policies and practices of the government. Numerous surveys are undertaken on a variety of issues. It raises more than $2 million per year, much of which is reinvested in continued public education and grass roots lobbying. Some of this amount is spent on a staff to directly lobby Congress on behalf of the organization, to monitor legislation, and to produce additional communications with the public. Under the general policy guidance of a Board of Directors of five, and with the encouragement of hundreds of thousands of members and supporters, the Council for Government Reform continues to promote better government at all levels."

Projects
One of CGR's projects is RetireSafe.org, which describes itself as "a grassroots action network promoting dynamic, pro-growth solutions to America's retirement security challenges."

In September 2004, RetireSafe.org launched its "Medicare Extension Campaign." The campaign, carried out by the DCI Group, asked seniors, their families and healthcare workers "to send letters to their congressman and senators thanking them for supporting the Medicare benefit, or asking for that support in the future. We [DCI] have help available to write letters if the signer is not comfortable drafting the letter entirely on their own." The Hill reported that, as part of the campaign, DCI "is offering healthcare consultants $3,750 plus expenses over six weeks to generate positive news stories about the drug card and offer support to Congress for voting for the Medicare drug law."

Contact
Council for Government Reform 3124 North Tenth Street Arlington, VA 22201 http://www.govreform.org/

Other Related SourceWatch Resources

 * RetireSafe.org
 * DCI Group
 * think tank