Senator McCain: An American Hero
The Coalition for Integrity family offers our sincerest condolences to the McCain family. While we mourn Senator McCain’s passing, we will always remember him for modeling the integrity and trustworthiness all Americans–political leaders, business executives and every day citizens–must strive for to keep the institutions of our democracy strong.
Senator McCain was the recipient of the 2017 Coalition for Integrity Award for his steadfast support of laws that support transparency and foster more integrity and accountability in government. He attended the Integrity Award ceremony with his wife Cindy in a wheel chair as a result of side effects of his treatment. In his remarks at the ceremony, he propped himself up at the lectern and stressed the importance of our cause.
“I am grateful to be in the company of so many people who are dedicated to promoting greater transparency and accountability and fighting to end corruption in our government and the private sector. This cause has never been more critical. Now more than ever we must not give up this fight.”
His entire remarks from the dinner are available here.
Senator McCain was an unwavering defender of accountability, openness and integrity. He sponsored or co-sponsored laws to promote openness, including the McCain-Feingold Campaign Reform Act; the Earmark Transparency Act; the Federal Funding Accountability and Transparency Act; the Lobbying Transparency and Accountability Act; and the Fair Accountability and Innovative Research Drug Pricing Act. Senator McCain co-sponsored the Sergei Magnitsky Human Rights Accountability Act of 2012 and the Global Magnitsky Human Rights Accountability Act of 2016, crucial in the fight against kleptocracies. Most recently, he co-sponsored the Honest Ads Act, intended to prevent foreign interference in future elections and improve the transparency of online political advertisements.
Senator McCain’s service and his remarks at our dinner last year, and his lifetime of service, have inspired the Coalition to continue our efforts to strengthen efforts to embed integrity in government and business. We will continue to advocate for strong and vigorously enforced anti-corruption and pro-transparency laws working individually and in coalition with others. We will also continue our work to push the United States’ government to take a leadership position on anti-corruption issues in the world.
On a more personal note, as we remember Senator McCain, we also are reminded of the kindness he showed to our President and CEO Shruti Shah, shortly after her naturalization as a United States citizen. Sharing her pride at becoming a citizen, Senator McCain patiently took the time to pose for the following photograph. Sometimes the actions we take when no one else is watching are the truest test of the genuineness of our character and integrity. We are grateful for Senator McCain’s many services to the nation and for the ways, large and small, that he modeled a life of integrity.
