Wertheimer Remarks at 11/16 Press Conference to Support H.R. 1, Historic Democracy Reform Legislation

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Remarks of Democracy 21 President Fred Wertheimer at Press Conference Today to Support H.R. 1, the For the People Act

Enclosed for your information are remarks by Democracy 21 President Fred Wertheimer presented at a press conference on H.R. 1, the For the People Act. H. R. 1 passed the House in 2019 and is scheduled for early consideration by the House next year.

The press conference was sponsored by the Declaration for American Democracy coalition (DFAD) and included congressional leaders of the effort to enact historic democracy reform legislation H.R. 1, including House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Rep. John Sarbanes (D-MD), Chair of the House Democracy Reform Task Force, and Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-OR), a lead sponsor of the Senate companion legislation to H.R. 1. The press conference also included Wertheimer and other leaders from some of the more than 170 organizations that make up the DFAD coalition that advocates the enactment of H.R. 1.

Read Wertheimer’s full remarks below.

I want to thank House Speaker Pelosi, Rep. Sarbanes, and Senator Merkley for their exceptional leadership and their commitment to repairing our broken political system. Two huge problems are addressed by H.R. 1, voting rights and campaign finance. I am going to address my remarks to the campaign finance provisions of H.R. 1.

The financing of the 2020 elections has provided stark evidence of just how out-of-control and dangerous our campaign finance system has become.

An unprecedented $14 billion was spent on the elections, more than twice as much as the $6.5 billion spent in the 2016 presidential cycle, according to the Center for Responsive Politics.

Of that total amount, a record-breaking $2.6 billion was in outside spending, according to the Center. These expenditures were financed by massive contributions that are the most dangerous money in American politics. They are huge and often secret contributions with the ability to exercise powerful corrupting influence over federal officeholders and government policies.

At the same time, millions of ordinary Americans made small, non-corrupting contributions in the 2020 elections, primarily online. These donors also set records in the 2020 elections — providing a total of $2.7 billion, according to the Center.

H.R. 1 creates a new, small donor, public matching funds system, that would match contributions up to $200 per donor at a 6-to-1 ratio. The system is financed entirely by a new, small surcharge on the fines, penalties, and settlements paid to the government by corporate lawbreakers and wealthy tax cheats.

This new financing system, combined with the rapidly increasing ability of candidates to raise small contributions online, would flood federal elections with non-corrupting campaign funds.

The system would provide candidates with the funds they need to run competitive races without being obligated to megadonor funders.

The new financing system is essential to repairing our democracy.

Without providing candidates with this alternative way to finance their campaigns, political money corruption in Washington will continue and only grow far worse.

Let me repeat that:

Without providing candidates with this alternative way to finance their campaigns, political money corruption in Washington will continue and only grow far worse.

Federal officeholders will remain trapped in a corrupt campaign finance system.

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