Mar 15, 2006 -- Groups Urge BCRA Supporters to Oppose H.R. 1606 and Vote for H.R. 4900

Letter of the Campaign Legal Center, Democracy 21, League of Women Voters, Public Citizen, U.S. PIRG to House members who supported BCRA urging them not to undermine the law by voting for 1606.

March 15, 2006

Dear Representative,

Our organizations strongly urge you, as a Member who voted for the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act of 2002 (BCRA), to oppose H.R. 1606 and to vote for H.R. 4900, when this legislation comes to the floor tomorrow.

The organizations include the Campaign Legal Center, Common Cause, Democracy 21, the League of Women Voters, Public Citizen and U.S. PIRG.

H.R 1606 would fundamentally undermine the BCRA legislation you supported, the most important campaign finance reform law enacted in a generation.

In striking down an FEC regulation which had language identical to the language in H.R. 1606, federal district court Judge Kollar-Kotelly found that this proposal "would permit rampant circumvention of the campaign finance laws and foster corruption or the appearance of corruption."

This is no time to "foster corruption" and "permit rampant circumvention" of the campaign finance laws. The American people have made very clear that they are deeply concerned about corruption in government.

According to a CNN/USA Today/Gallup poll ( January 10, 2006 ), for example, "corruption ranked among the concerns most often cited by those polled, with 43 percent telling pollsters it would be an 'extremely important' issue in 2006." This was just two percent below the 45 percent response for the war in Iraq and terrorism.

Last November, when H.R. 1606 was placed on the suspension calendar, House Members were denied an opportunity to consider any alternative approach.

This time a bipartisan alternative, H.R. 4900, is being offered by Representatives Tom Allen (D-ME) and Charles Bass (R-NH), that offers greater protections for bloggers and other individuals communicating on the Internet than H.R. 1606, without opening the huge soft money loopholes in BCRA that H.R. 1606 does.

According to an editorial in The New York Times (March 15, 2006) opposing H.R 1606 and supporting H.R 4900:

It is imperative that the courageous lawmakers who supported the McCain-Feingold reform law four years ago stand together against making the Internet a cornucopia of political corruption. Wavering Democrats, in particular, need a strong leadership call to stand fast, despite campaign-year cravings for more money. Voters need to pay particular attention to which lawmakers endorse this unfettered sale of political influence.

We strongly urge you to vote against H.R. 1606 and to vote for H.R. 4900.

Campaign Legal Center, Common Cause, Democracy 21, League of Women Voters, Public Citizen, U.S. PIRG