Reform Groups Support New Legislation Introduced Today by Senator Feingold and Representatives Meehan and Shays to Fix the Presidential Public Financing System

Enclosed for your information is a letter reform groups sent today to all members of Congress, urging them to support the new legislation that was introduced today by Senator Russ Feingold (D-WI) and Representatives Marty Meehan (D-MA) and Christopher Shays (R-CT) to fix the presidential public financing system.

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

According to the letter from reform groups, ''The presidential public financing system was created in 1974 in the wake of the Watergate scandals and served the nation well for most of its existence. The system, however, is now broken and in need of repair.''

The letter states, ''At a time when corruption scandals continue to unfold in Washington and deeply concern the American people, it makes no sense to abandon a presidential financing system that has played a major role in protecting the integrity of the presidency and that can be repaired to play the same critical role in the future.''

A copy of the letter sent to the House is enclosed below.

July 26, 2006

Dear Representative,

Our groups strongly support a voluntary system of public financing and spending limits for all federal elections. This system is essential to prevent corruption and the appearance of corruption, to give candidates the opportunity to run competitive races, and to stop the arms race money chase that results from unlimited spending in campaigns.

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

The presidential public financing system was created in 1974 in the wake of the Watergate scandals and served the nation well for most of its existence. The system, however, is now broken and in need of repair.

Representatives Marty Meehan (D-MA) and Christopher Shays (R-CT) are introducing legislation today to fix the presidential public financing system. We strongly urge you to co-sponsor and support this important legislation.

Every president elected since 1976 has used the public financing system to pay for his general election campaign. This includes Presidents Jimmy Carter, Ronald Reagan, George H.W. Bush, Bill Clinton and George W. Bush. All of these presidents, except the current President Bush, also used the system to pay for their primary elections.

In three of the six presidential races run under the presidential public financing system that involved incumbents and challengers, challengers won the presidency.

In addition to all presidential winners, since 1976, all of the major party opponents they faced in the general election also used the public financing system to pay for their campaigns. And in the presidential primaries, almost all of the presidential candidates from both major parties since 1976 have used the public financing system to pay for their races.

In the 2004 presidential election, the public financing system failed to function properly, in large part because there had been no adjustments made in the system since its enactment in 1974. This led to a number of problems with the system, including spending limits in the presidential primary elections that are too low, and it resulted in presidential candidates opting out of the primary financing system in 2004 for strategic and competitive reasons, including the eventual nominees for both major parties.

We are now facing a presidential election in 2008, where the two major party nominees may well opt out of both the primary and general election public funding system and end up spending a combined $1 billion in private funds on their races.

If this happens, big-money fundraisers will play a dominant role in the election, with individuals each raising six-and seven-figure total amounts for the presidential candidates, and the presidency placed back on the auction block that the public financing system had taken it off.

The absence of an effective presidential public financing system also will provide well-known frontrunners with an enormous financial advantage, while others candidates will have a very difficult time raising sufficient funds to be competitive.

The legislation introduced by Representatives Meehan and Shays would make a series of important reforms to the presidential public financing system and again provide participating candidates the opportunity to run competitive races. The legislation would:

- Raise the spending limits for the primary and general elections and increase the amount of public funds available to presidential candidates for these races;

- Make public funds available to primary candidates earlier in the process;

- Provide additional public funds for a publicly-financed candidate where a privately-financed candidate has significantly outspent the spending limits applicable to the publicly-financed candidate;

- Increase the public funds available to pay for the presidential system; and

- Prohibit the national parties and their agents and officers, and federal officeholders, from raising or spending soft money to pay for the party nominating conventions.

At a time when corruption scandals continue to unfold in Washington and deeply concern the American people, it makes no sense to abandon a presidential financing system that has played a major role in protecting the integrity of the presidency and that can be repaired to play the same critical role in the future.

We strongly urge you to co-sponsor and support the Meehan-Shays bill to fix the presidential public financing system.

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

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