Concord, NH. – Americans for Campaign Reform (ACR), who launched the “Just $6” grassroots movement for public funding, has announced its support for the Fair Elections Now Act that proposes voluntary public funding for all Senate races. Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Arlen Specter (R-PA) introduced the bipartisan legislation as a way to restore public confidence in the election process.

The legislation would create a voluntary system through which participating Senate candidates––those who establish their credibility by collecting enough qualifying contributions and who then pledge not to accept private contributions ––would receive public funds for primary and general elections. Participants would also be eligible for free media vouchers and discounted commercial advertising rates.

WHAT: A panel discussion featuring Senator Warren G. Rudman, former U.S. Senator from New Hampshire.

Today, the need for massive amounts of campaign money impacts who runs for public office and who wins our elections. And once elected, our leaders must spend more and more time raising campaign funds, which means less time doing the public's business. Perhaps most disturbing, there is a strong perception among the public that the flow of money is distorting our national agenda and influencing the legislation that is introduced and passed.

Millions of Americans are deeply concerned, even disillusioned, by the accountability of elected officials to special interest donors rather than to the voters who elect them. Americans for Campaign Reform, the Brennan Center for Justice and the Wolfson Center for National Affairs will host a panel discussion to delve into the impact of money on our political system, and weigh the different approaches to solving the problem including ethics reform, regulation of lobbying activity and public funding of elections.

Americans for Campaign Reform (ACR), the Concord, NH-based advocate for public funding of all federal elections, has announced their support for recently introduced legislation to update and fix the presidential public funding system. Representatives Marty Meehan (D-MA), Christopher Shays (R-CT) and David Price (D-NC) introduced the legislation earlier this week.

Senator Russell Feingold (D-WI) has also introduced companion legislation in the Senate to fix the system.

Other original sponsors of the legislation in the House include Democratic Caucus Chairman Rahm Emanuel (D-IL) and Representative Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), Chairman of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee.

Concord, N.H. -- While legislation introduced today to revise the presidential public financing system is very positive, Congress should also reform the system by publicly funding elections for the U.S. Senate and House, John Rauh, founder and president of the Americans for Campaign Reform (ACR), said today.

“The very issues cited as reasons for reform – lobbying scandals involving Jack Abramoff and former Rep. Duke Cunningham – involve matters relating to Congress,” said Rauh. “These scandals cry out for a solution that addresses the problem. The problem is a private financing system that loosens a cascade of special interest money. The solution is public financing of all federal elections, including the House and Senate.”

Americans for Campaign Reform (ACR), a nonpartisan organization, today announced that its national grassroots movement to press Congress for voluntary public funding of all federal elections has gained the support of four prominent former Senators, two Republicans and two Democrats, who will serve as Honorary Chairs.

The four former lawmakers – Sens. Bill Bradley (D-N.J.), Bob Kerrey (D-Neb.), Warren Rudman (R-N.H.), and Alan Simpson (R-Wyo.) – said that the time is right for public funding. Under ACR's proposal, Congress would have to spend only $6 per citizen per year to publicly fund each and every election for the House, the Senate and the White House.

The bipartisan group of former Senators issued strong endorsements of public funding:

"I believe the current private financing system for federal elections is fundamentally flawed," Bradley said. "It encourages corruption and alienates our citizens. The solution is public financing."

Kerrey added, "I have seen how the current system limits electoral competition and distorts the public agenda. It demoralizes incumbents and challengers alike while increasing public suspicion that money buys access."

"Clearly," Rudman said, "there is a strong case for lobbying reform, but it would be a mistake not to also address the problems with our current system for financing federal elections. I have come to believe that it will take a fundamental change, that public funding is now an imperative."

Simpson said, "Incumbents find it eternally necessary to raise big bucks for their next election nearly every single day. It was not only demeaning but it took a large chunk of time that could have been devoted to doing the public's business. The time is now to go to voluntary public funding."

John Rauh, founder of Americans for Campaign Reform, today issued the following statement after Senate passage of lobbying reform legislation:

"The lobbying reform bill that cleared the Senate yesterday won't affect behavior by lobbyists and politicians – and it simply won’t convince Americans that the Congress is serious about reform.

"There isn't a single water cooler or coffee shop in America today where people are saying 'wow, it sure looks like they finally got serious this time.'

"If the Senate had hoped to change public attitudes and suspicions about the way the world within the Beltway works, they have fallen far, far short.

John Rauh, Founder and President of Americans for Campaign Reform (ACR), a non-partisan grassroots organization advocating the public funding of federal elections, recently announced that Donald Petterson is representing ACR on a bicycle journey from Florida to New Hampshire this spring. The 73-year-old former Ambassador to Sudan is promoting the ACR message as he rides from Miami all the way up the East Coast to Concord, NH.

Petterson, the author of two books about U.S. diplomacy, now commits his energy and time to discussing real campaign reform with folks he meets along the way. He points out that for just $6 per American per year, the government can fund every qualified candidate running for office in the House, the Senate, and the White House. This would eliminate the influence of big money on our democracy.