(Washington, D.C.) – Citizens Against Government Waste (CAGW), America’s premier waste-fighting advocacy group, today announced the release of the Pledge of Integrity, a document that commits America’s elected officials to fiscal and moral honesty.  Three senators and forty-five members of Congress, representing both political parties and every region of the country, have signed the pledge to date.

“By signing the Pledge of Integrity, these legislators have promised to treat as a sacred trust any public funds,” remarked CAGW Chairman and investigative journalist Jack Anderson.  “CAGW will be working throughout the remainder of 1998 and beyond to have every candidate for legislative and executive office at the state and national level sign the pledge.”

The idea behind the pledge is simple.  It is a promise of honesty and character that should be fundamental to anyone seeking to serve the public.  Legislators vow “to treat as a sacred trust any public funds that pass through [their] hands.”

On July 16, CAGW delivered a copy of the Pledge of Integrity to every congressional office, urging each member of Congress to sign and return the pledge.  On September 16, Rep. Edward Royce, (R-Calif.) followed up this letter with a request to his colleagues in the House and Senate, urging them to each sign the pledge.  The letter states, “The pledge is not about partisan politics, but renewing our commitment to safeguard the integrity of our office under the Constitution, and maintain America’s moral leadership in the world by refusing to allow the waste and abuse of the people’s resources.”

“We are very proud to have these members of the House and Senate as partners in our effort to end the culture of entitlement that permeates Capitol Hill,” Anderson noted.  “The Pledge of Integrity is about more than saving taxpayer dollars.  It is about restoring the sacred trust between citizens and their representatives in government.”

CAGW is a 600,000 member nonpartisan, nonprofit organization, dedicated to eliminating waste, fraud, mismanagement and abuse in government.