Lobbying Blog Post #3: Campaign Finance Reform
The Fair Elections Now Act was reintroduced on April 6, 2011 by Senator Dick Durbin in the Senate and then by Representatives John Larson, Walter Jones, and Chellie Pingree in the House of Representatives. This reintroduction got a lot of media attention by the 7th, and on April 12, the bill was brought before the Judiciary Subcommittee on the Constitution, Civil Rights and Human Rights. Senator Durbin and other sponsors of the bill believe it is a comprehensive response to the recent Supreme Court decision in Citizens United vs. Federal Election Commission in 2010. This ruling in this case and in previous cases dealing with similar issues set back finance reform because they agreed that putting a limitation on contributions such as in ads and donations from corporations to candidates hinders their “political free speech.” However, the Fair Elections Now Act would amend the Federal Election Campaign Act so that there would be a public fund set aside for candidates to use in elections. Therefore, neither the “free speech” of corporations and lobbyists hindered nor are politicians that cannot afford to run their own campaign forced to use money from these contributors. Some trust could be restored into politics because disclosure still stands under FECA, and now we would have candidates that will choose not to rely on lobbyists. Under the public eye, these candidates would be the most trustworthy. Therefore, more candidates that wish to gain public favor would use as much public funds as they can. All in all, the election process would just be that much cleaner because a candidate would not be forced to get dirty. So, how are the politicians taking this bill?
Well, this is not the first time the bill has been introduced. The first time around, it just got pushed around and never really got passed. This time, it garnered more media attention with its reintroduction and more government support. There are currently 13 co-sponsors in the Senate, and 78 co-sponsors in the House working for this bill. Since its introduction, there has been progress in the form of hundreds of messages have been sent to Congress, letters have been written to the newspapers, and there are over 12,500 citizen co-sponsors for the bill. However, there has not been any support from candidates. Also, in recent months, this particular bill has cooled down. It has still not been passed into law. There aren’t any upcoming meetings or dates involving the Fair Elections Now Act. Some fear that once again the bill is just going to sit in committee and never get passed. Maybe if more Republican Senators and Representatives also paid it attention, more could be done with. However, what this bill really needs – and what finance reform needs in general – is bigger government support. I’m not talking about more Senators and Representatives stepping in, I mean that more influential people need to step up. Senator John McCain has been a long-time supporter of campaign finance reform. In fact, after the Supreme Court ruling on Citizens United vs. FEC, he did predict a backlash from the public once they realized just how much money lobbyists could control in government. But, where is he on this bill? He isn’t one of the main supporters, that’s for sure. He actually dared to say that campaign finance reform is dead. But, that's only because people like him stopped fighting for it. If bigger name politicians spoke on this bill, whether in support or disagreement, it would at least get more media attention. I highly doubt the public is even aware that a public fund option is even possible in elections.
Now, I’m not saying we want to drag Obama into this particular bill. He has a lot of big things on his plate that he desperately needs to deal with (the economy, for one). However, he at least needs to have a more noticeable position on the subject. How can campaign finance reform get started if even the president doesn’t pay enough attention? You want to know why this year is a perfect year to get this reform going? There are the Republican primaries and soon there will be the next Presidential election. Any candidate that takes the plunge in public funding and avoids corporation contributions will shine brighter in the public eye. Occupy Wall Street has been going strong for weeks now, and although the protestors are being forced to move, you can bet the sentiment is still there. People want government to clean up. They’re tired of 1% of the population having all the money and power, and using that money and power in government. It is a little sad that there have been a number of Occupy demonstrations in Philadelphia, yet Pennsylvania Senator Robert Casey has no connection with finance reform and only Representative Michael Doyle co-sponsors the Fair Elections Now Act. At least a state that deals every day with public frustration towards government would feel a little bit more initiative on reform. These are most likely the men I could most directly influence, but to be honest, the only way anything is going to get done about campaign finance reform is if people are aware of the problems.
