Sep 14, 2007 -- Reform Groups Urge Presidential Candidates to Co-Sponsor or Endorse Legislation to Fix Presidential Public Financing System

Enclosed for your information is a letter reform groups sent today to the 2008 presidential candidates, as well as all Representatives and Sentaors urging them to co-sponsor, or, if not in Congress, to endorse, legislation introduced in Congress to repair the presidential public financing system.

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

The letter states, ''The recent published stories involving bundler Norman Hsu have only served to reinforce the dangers of privately-funded presidential campaigns driven by unlimited campaign spending and increasingly dependent on bundlers to raise huge amounts of money.''

According to the letter from reform groups, ''It is essential to the health of our democracy and to the integrity of the presidency to avoid having the nation's highest office on the auction block and presidential candidates engaged in a never-ending race to raise and spend ever-growing amounts of private contributions.''

The letter adds, ''The problems with the presidential funding system today are primarily the result of the failure of Congress to take any action to modernize and update the system since it was enacted more than thirty years ago. These problems can and must be solved.''

The organizations sent similar letters today to House members and Senators urging them to co-sponsor the legislation introduced in the House and Senate to repair the presidential public financing system.

September 14, 2007

Our groups strongly urge you and other presidential candidates to co-sponsor, or, if not in Congress, to endorse, legislation introduced in Congress to repair the presidential public financing system.

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

The recent published stories involving bundler Norman Hsu have only served to reinforce the dangers of privately-funded presidential campaigns driven by unlimited campaign spending and increasingly dependent on bundlers to raise huge amounts of money.

It is essential to the health of our democracy and to the integrity of the presidency to avoid having the nation's highest office on the auction block and presidential candidates engaged in a never-ending race to raise and spend ever-growing amounts of private contributions.

As The New York Times recently stated in an editorial endorsing legislation to fix the presidential public financing system (September 12, 2007):

For 30 years after the Watergate scandal, the nation did well by the public financing campaign system, which served as a cleaner alternative to private political money. Congress let that die on the vine, failing to raise subsidy levels to meet campaign inflation. The result is candidates' gratefully wooing bundlers and selling privileged access -- with far too few questions asked.

And as The Washington Post recently stated in an editorial (September 12, 2007):

If the system of providing candidates with federal matching funds for their primary campaigns and full financing for the general election were overhauled to make participation more attractive, candidates would limit the amounts they spend -- and have less need for the Hsus of the world.

The problems with the presidential funding system today are primarily the result of the failure of Congress to take any action to modernize and update the system since it was enacted more than thirty years ago. These problems can and must be solved.

For example, the spending limits for presidential primaries are far too low to meet the costs of running a modern presidential primary campaign. And sufficient public funds are not made available to presidential candidates to run competitive primary campaigns.

Legislation to repair the presidential public financing system has been introduced in the Senate (S.436) by Senator Russell Feingold (D-WI) and co-sponsored by Senator Barack Obama (D-IL). Companion legislation has been introduced in the House (H.R.776) by Representatives David Price (D-NC), Christopher Shays (R-CT), Chris Van Hollen (D-MD) and Todd Platts (R-PA).

The legislation increases the spending limits and the amount of public funds available for candidates who opt into the presidential system. It also includes adjustments to allow candidates who opt into the system to run competitive races against candidates who opt-out of the system and substantially outspend the spending limits for opt-in candidates.

The legislation also requires presidential candidates to disclose the individuals who bundle contributions for them and the total amounts they bundle. The significance of bundlers, however, would be greatly reduced in an effective public financing system.

While the legislation would not take effect until 2009, reflecting the practical realities of the 2008 presidential race, enacting this legislation as soon as possible is critical to protecting the presidency and our democracy in future years.

We strongly urge you to co-sponsor this legislation if you are in Congress, or to endorse it if you are not, and to publicly commit to working for its enactment if you are elected President.

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