THE LET THE PEOPLE DECIDE
CLEAN CAMPAIGN ACT

Elections are supposed to be the most public, not private, events in our country. They are not public events if only the wealthy few have influence. The Let The People Decide Clean Campaign Act is intended to once-and for-all break the connection between money and the legislative process.

WHAT IT DOES:

v  The Act contains a finding that America's faith in our election system has been fundamentally destroyed by big money and cynical expenditures by outside interest groups.

v   It establishes a system of public financing of campaigns for House candidates in general elections.

v   It provides nearly every challenger with more funds to mount their campaign than the current system.

v   It empowers voters with the knowledge that their vote affects not only the outcome of the current election but also the amount distributed to nominees in future elections.

v   It stops 527s and other special interest groups from using legal loopholes to get around reasonable campaign spending caps by cynically pretending that their ads are not designed to influence elections.

HOW IT WORKS:

Ø  The Act prohibits all private money in general elections for the U.S. House of Representatives.

Ø   To enable average American citizens to take the country's political system back from special interests and the well connected, the Act creates the Grassroots Good Citizenship Fund into which individual public spirited Americans can voluntarily contribute.

Ø   To finance general elections for the House of Representatives, the FEC is authorized to conduct a major advertising campaign from January 15 to April 15 of each year, alerting the public to the existence and purpose of that fund. Citizens can make voluntary contributions to the fund as a "check up" on their federal tax return. In addition, the fund is supplemented by a 1/10 of 1% fee charged to all corporations with profits above $10 million.

Ø   The Grassroots Good Citizenship Fund would provide each Congressional district with an amount up to $2,000,000 to be divided by the nominees of the major parties based on a formula for each district.

o    The Grassroots Good Citizenship Fund shrinks the financial gap that now exists in the current system between incumbents and challengers in the vast majority of House races.

o    Funds would be distributed to candidates within 10 days of certification of primary victory or signature papers.

o    All challengers can qualify for an amount equal to the highest funded candidate by demonstrating strong public support through a petition system.

Ø   Third party and independent candidates qualify for funding outside of the district cap based on demonstrated public support in the past 3 elections which were contested by the two major parties, using three methods and choosing the one that gives them the highest funding. They can also gain greater parity with the highest funded candidate through the petition system.

Ø   State and national parties would be able to provide assistance to candidates so long as the accumulated value of the funds, goods and services does not exceed 5% of the maximum expenditure applicable.

Ø   If the courts overturn these limitations then the bill contains a requirement for expedited procedures for the consideration of a Constitutional amendment only for the purpose of providing reasonable restrictions on contributions, expenditures and disbursements for Federal office and to protect the integrity of the electoral process.