Durbin, Specter, Tierney Introduce Bills to Reform Financing of Congressional Elections

Press Release

DURBIN, SPECTER, TIERNEY INTRODUCE BILLS TO REFORM FINANCING OF CONGRESSIONAL ELECTIONS

U.S. Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL), Arlen Specter (R-PA) and Congressman John Tierney (D-MA) today unveiled two bipartisan bills - one dealing with Senate races; the other focused on House contests - to restore public confidence in the Congressional elections process. Both bills would allow qualified candidates to receive campaign financing from a public fund instead of from lobbyists and other special interests.

"Today the amount of money spent in top ten competitive Senate races averages $34 million per campaign - double what it was just four years ago. It takes a mountain of money - about $7 million on average - even to lose a Senate campaign. This is not sustainable," said Durbin. "People who say the public shouldn't have to pay for elections are missing the point: The American people already pay for elections - in ways that favor incumbents and special interests and in a Congressional agenda spawned too many times by those who finance our campaigns. Public financing will cost us only a fraction of what the current system costs."

Durbin's legislation, known as the Fair Elections Now Act would create a voluntary system that gives Senate candidates the option to stop dialing for dollars and attending fundraisers, without unilaterally disarming against a well-financed opponent. For those who participate, fundraising would be limited to raising "seed money" in amounts of no more than $100 per person to pay for campaign start-up costs. In addition, participating candidates would be required to demonstrate sufficient public support to merit Fair Elections funding by raising qualifying contributions of $5 each from a minimum number of state residents (based on the population of the state). Having demonstrated their viability, the candidates would be eligible to receive Fair Elections funds.

This legislation establishes a formula for determining the level of public funding provided to qualifying candidates for the primary and general election cycles. The amount would vary based on the population of the state, with the allocation for the primary equaling two-thirds of the allocation for the general election. The allocations would also be adjusted for the cost differences in the various media markets covering each state. Participants would receive vouchers for purchasing broadcast air time and would receive a 20% discount below the lowest unit cost on all advertising purchased near the end of the primary and general campaigns.

The legislation is modeled after the Fair Elections-type systems that have already been implemented at the state and local levels such as those in Arizona and Maine.

"Five years ago today, the Senate passed the McCain-Feingold campaign finance reforms banning huge soft-money donations to political parties. Earlier this year, we passed lobbying reforms," said Durbin. "But the truth is, we can pass all the lobbying and ethics reforms in the world and it won't solve the real problem. Special interest money will always find new loopholes to work its way into campaigns until we change the system fundamentally."

The Fair Elections Now Act is supported by a wide range of organizations, including Americans for Campaign Reform, Brennan Center for Justice, Common Cause, Democracy 21, Democracy Matters, Public Campaign, Public Citizen, U.S. PIRG, AFL-CIO, AFSCME, Campaign for Americas Future, Communications Workers of America, Dolores Huerta Foundation, League of Conservation Voters, League of Women Voters, Mexican American Legal Defense and Education Fund, MoveOn.org, NAACP, National Coalition on Black Civic Participation, National Council of Churches USA, SEIU, Sierra Club, and US Action.

Source