Thursday September 2, 2010
Tell Our Senators To Co-Sponsor The Fair Elections Now Act PDF Print E-mail
Written by ml   
Monday, 08 March 2010 16:53
 I have always been a supporter of campaign finance reform, however, my interest has deepened even further since the Supreme Court decision in Citizens United v. The Federal Election Commission. The Fair Elections Now Act is really starting to pick up steam and I think it would be a great step in the right direction.

For those of you who are not familiar with the legislation, the Fair Elections Now Act, sponsored by Senators Dick Durban and Arlen Specter in the Senate, and Representatives Walter Jones and John Larson in the House, would allow federal candidates to choose to run for office on a blend of small donations and public finance. There are similar and successful programs on the state-wide level in Arizona and Maine. The cost of the program is estimated at around $700 to $850 million per year that would be paid for by a small fee on large government contractors on the Senate side and from ten percent of revenues generated through the auction of unused broadcast spectrum on the House side.

More detailed information can be found at:

http://www.fairelectionsnow.org/

Both Congressmen Kennedy and Langevin have already signed on as co-sponsors. However, I noticed that both our Senators, for whatever reason, have not. I'm a firm believer in what they theorists call the policy window theory, basically it means there is only a certain amount of time to pass particular legislation until the window shuts. It's time we contact our Senators and ask them to co-sponsor the Fair Elections Now Act before the momentum runs out. I know I don't want to wait 10-20 years before campaign finance becomes a focus issue again.  I know it doesn't solve all the problems of special interest, but it's a step right?

Contact our Senators:

Senator Reed

Call: (401) 943-3100

Write: 1000 Chapel View Boulevard, Suite 290, Cranston, RI 02920

 

Senator Whitehouse

Call: (401) 453-5294

Write: 170 Westminster Street, Suite 1100, Providence, RI 02903

Comments (0)Add Comment
feedSubscribe to this comment's feed
min/maxShow/hide comments

Write comment
You must be logged in to post a comment. Please register if you do not have an account yet.

busy
Last Updated on Monday, 08 March 2010 16:53
 
Banner