February 1, 2006            

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Ellis Brachman (Obey) (202) 225-3365
Peter Kovar (Frank) (202) 225-5931

OBEY, Frank Introduce Plan
To Take Private Money Out of Politics
Legislation Is Intended To Break Nexus Of Money In Politics & Restore Public Faith In Congress

Recognizing that more than lobbying rule changes are necessary to restore the public's faith in Congress, Representatives Dave Obey (D-WI) and Barney Frank (D-MA) announced today that when Congress reconvenes they will introduce legislation that would radically overhaul the congressional campaign finance system; eliminating all private money from general elections for the U.S. House of Representatives.

In conjunction with the 14-point House rule reform package Obey and Frank are introducing with Reps. David Price (D-NC) and Tom Allen (D-ME), the plan is intended to break the nexus of money in the legislative process and return the nation to government 'of the people, by the people and for the people.'

"We have reached a point where private money is swamping the political process and corrupting our government, but the problem with politics is more fundamental than meals or trips with lobbyists," said Obey. "To restore the public's faith in the system, lobby reform is necessary and should be done, but the only way to address the fundamental problem is to end the abuse of House rules by the Republican leadership and take all private money out of politics. That is what our plans are intended to do."

"Given the current state of campaign finance law, I strongly support the reforms that have been proposed by the House and Senate Democratic Leadership, but I believe it also makes sense at the same time to begin the longer process of working for public financing of Congressional elections," added Frank. "The legislation we are proposing today would help us move toward getting the Supreme Court to reconsider its ruling from the 1970s that effectively bars public financing."

The 'Grassroots Clean Campaign Act' legislation drafted by Obey and Frank does not attempt to fine-tune the existing congressional campaign finance system or tweak the edges, rather it makes fundamental, wholesale changes to the way we raise funds for candidates, regulate outside groups and the role of political parties.


v It contains a finding that America's faith in our election system has been fundamentally corrupted by big money and cynical expenditures by outside interest groups.

v It establishes a system of financing campaigns for House candidates in general elections based on the returns from the previous two elections.

v It provides the vast majority of challengers with more funds to mount their campaign than the current system.

v It empowers voters with the knowledge that their vote affects the outcome of the current election and also affects the amount distributed to nominees in future elections.

v It bans all independent expenditures so that only the candidate is responsible for his/her message.

v It provides for expedited consideration of a constitutional amendment allowing these changes if the Supreme Court rejects the plan.


"Political campaigns are not going to be financed through immaculate conception," concluded Obey. "If the public does not want special interests to dominate political campaign contributions then the only logical alternative is for them to take politics back from the special interests by supporting public financing. There is no free lunch."

To view a PDF version of H.R. 4694, click here.

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