January 06, 2009

    
OBEY KICKS OFF 111th CONGRESS WITH CALL
FOR FUNDAMENTAL CAMPAIGN FINANCE REFORM
Measure Would Take Private Money Out of General Elections to Restore Public Faith in Congress 

Washington, D.C. - Congressman Dave Obey (D-WI) kicked off the 111th Congress with a call for the complete overhaul of the congressional campaign finance system and the elimination of all private money from general elections for the U.S. House of Representatives.

"We're swearing in a new Congress, a new President, and it's time to swear in a new campaign finance system to restore the public's faith in our government," Obey said. "That's why we introduced the Let The People Decide Clean Campaign Act today."

"The Act does not attempt to fine-tune the existing congressional campaign finance system or tweak the edges," Obey added. "It makes fundamental, wholesale changes to the way we raise funds for candidates, and regulate outside groups and the role of political parties."

• It contains a finding that America's faith in our election system has been fundamentally corrupted by big money and cynical expenditures by outside interest groups.
• It establishes a system of voluntary contributions to provide public financing of campaigns for House candidates in general elections.
• It provides the vast majority of challengers with more funds to mount their campaign than the current system.
• It empowers voters with the knowledge that their vote affects the outcome of the current election and also affects the amount distributed to nominees in future elections.
• It bans all independent expenditures so that only the candidate is responsible for his/her message.
• It provides for expedited consideration of a constitutional amendment allowing these changes if the Supreme Court rejects the plan.
• It provides a process by which third party candidates can also participate in the system.

Reps. Barney Frank (D-MA), Rosa DeLauro (D-CT), Steve Israel (D-NY), and Pete Stark (D-CA) joined with Obey as original co-sponsors of the Act.

"Political campaigns aren't going to be financed through Immaculate Conception," Obey concluded.  "If the public doesn't want special interests to dominate political campaign contributions then the only logical alternative is for them to take politics back from the special interests by supporting this kind of voluntary public financing.  There is no free lunch."

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* * See A Summary of the Act * *