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Obama Administration Statement Strongly Opposing H.R. 359, Legislation to Repeal the Presidential Public Financing System

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  EXECUTIVE OFFICE OF THE PRESIDENTOFFICE OF MANAGEMENT AND BUDGETWASHINGTON, D.C. 20503 January 25, 2011(House Rules)  STATEMENT OF ADMINISTRATION POLICY H.R. 359 – Termination of Public Financing of Presidential Campaigns and Party Conventions (Rep. Cole, R–Oklahoma, and 18 cosponsors)   The Administration strongly opposes House passage of H.R. 359 because it is critical that the […]

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Reform Groups Urge House Members to Vote on Wednesday Against House Bill (H.R. 359) to Repeal Presidential Public Financing System

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Americans for Campaign Finance Reform – Brennan Center for Justice – Campaign Legal Center – Common Cause Democracy 21- League of Women Voters – People For the American Way Public Campaign- Public Citizen – U.S. PIRG                      In a letter sent today, reform groups strongly urged House members “to oppose H.R. 359, […]

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Fact Sheet on the Presidential Public Financing System

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The 1974 Federal Election Campaign Act (FECA), enacted in response to the Watergate scandal, fundamentally reformed the rules governing campaign financing in federal elections. The hallmark of this legislation was the creation of a voluntary program of public financing for presidential elections. This innovative reform, which stands to this day as the flagship of public […]

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House Republican Leaders Launch Sneak Attack on the Presidential Public Financing System

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House Republican Leaders Launch Sneak Attack on Presidential Public Financing System,   Schedule House Floor Vote to Repeal the System Next Wednesday with No Hearings, No Committee Consideration, No Examination of the Dangers to the Political Process of Killing Rather than Repairing the Presidential System Statement by Democracy 21 President Fred Wertheimer  House Republicans leaders […]

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January 21, 2011: A Day to Keep Moving Forward to Mitigate the Enormous Damage Done by the Citizens United Decision

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By: Fred Wertheimer On January 21, 2010, one year ago tomorrow, five Supreme Court Justices issued a disastrous decision that initiated a dangerous sea change in American politics. The Supreme Court by a 5 to 4 vote in Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission struck down a century of U.S. policy and decades of Court […]

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Statement of Democracy 21 President Fred Wertheimer Praising House Speaker-designee John Boehner for Continuing Office of Congressional Ethics Intact in Next Congress

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Democracy 21 praises House Speaker-designee John Boehner for proposing House rules that will continue the Office of Congressional Ethics (OCE) intact in the next Congress The OCE, created in 2007, represents the most important improvement in ethics enforcement in the House since the House Ethics Committee was created in 1966.According to published reports, the OCE […]

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Reform Groups Urge Speaker-designee Boehner to Support and Continue Ethics Rules Adopted in 2007

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In a letter sent today, reform groups strongly urged Speaker-designee Boehner, "to support, without any weakening changes, the gift, travel and other ethics rules adopted by the House in 2007 in response to the Jack Abramoff scandals."The organizations include the Campaign Legal Center, Common Cause, CREW, Democracy 21, the League of Women Voters, Public Citizen […]

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POLITICO Op-ed by Democracy 21 President Fred Wertheimer: Court’s corruption of election law

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With its disastrous Citizens United decision in January, the Supreme Court, its eyes wide shut, opened a Pandora’s box. The five justices who struck down the ban on corporate expenditures in federal elections had no idea what they were unleashing on our democracy; no understanding of the consequences of their radical change to campaign finance […]

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Petition Filed in Supreme Court for Review of Minor Party Provisions of Connecticut Public Financing Law Upheld as Constitutional

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On December 9, 2010, the American Civil Liberties Union Foundation filed a petition for certiorari in the Supreme Court in Green Party of Connecticut v. Garfield, a case challenging the constitutionality of the minor party provisions of Connecticut’s public financing law. The Connecticut law provides a grant of public funds to any participating statewide or […]

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Statement of Democracy 21 President Fred Wertheimer At Press Conference urging House Republican Leaders to Support OCE

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The most important ethics test for House Speaker-designee John Boehner and House Majority Leader Eric Cantor in the next Congress will occur as soon as the new Congress convenes. The House Republican leaders must decide whether to continue or kill the Office of Congressional Ethics (OCE). The OCE was created under the leadership of House […]

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