Reform Groups Call on Presidential Candidates to Make Commitment Now to Use Public Financing System for General Election if Nominated

    WASHINGTON, March 8 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Eight reform groups sent
 a letter today to the 2008 presidential candidates urging them to make a
 public commitment now to use the system of spending limits and public funds
 in the 2008 presidential general election, if they receive their party's
 nomination and if their major party opponent agrees to use the system.
     The groups also called on the presidential candidates to endorse the
 legislation currently pending in Congress to repair the presidential public
 financing system for future elections.
     The reform groups include Americans for Campaign Reform, the Campaign
 Legal Center, Common Cause, Democracy 21, the League of Women Voters,
 Public Campaign Action Fund, Public Citizen and U.S. PIRG.
     In their letter the reform groups urged the presidential candidates to
 make the following commitments:
     -- make a public commitment now to use the public financing system for the
        2008 presidential general election, if they are nominated by their
        party and their major party opponent also agrees to use the system;
     -- agree to co-sponsor the legislation to fix the presidential public
        financing system, if they are in the Senate (S. 436) or the House
        (H.R. 776), or, if they are not in Congress, agree to publicly endorse
        the legislation. The Senate and House bills would be effective in 2009,
        for presidential races following the 2008 election; and
     -- make a public commitment now to work for the enactment of legislation
        to fix the presidential public financing system if they are elected
        president.
     The letter states, "The presidential public financing system was
 established in 1974 in the wake of the historic Watergate scandals. The
 system has served the nation and the presidency well for much of its
 thirty-year existence."
     The letter continues, "As you know, however, the presidential public
 financing system is now broken and it needs to be fixed. The spending
 limits for presidential primaries, for example, are far too low to meet the
 costs of running a modern presidential primary campaign. This has resulted
 in primary candidates in both parties rejecting the system for their 2008
 races." According to the letter, "The problems with the presidential
 funding system today are primarily the result of the failure of Congress to
 take action to modernize and update the system since it was enacted thirty
 years ago. These problems can and must be solved."
     According to the letter, "Last week, in response to an advisory opinion
 request by Senator Barack Obama (D-IL), the FEC ruled that a presidential
 candidate could raise private contributions for the general election on a
 provisional basis, and then return the money and opt into the public
 financing system if the candidate won his or her party's nomination."
     The letter adds, "As a result, the public financing system remains
 viable for the 2008 presidential general election, provided both major
 party nominees opt into the system."
     The letter states, "The FEC ruling sets the stage for the two major
 party nominees to accept public financing for the general election without
 being placed at a competitive disadvantage."
     The letter continues, "The ruling allows a presidential candidate to
 raise sufficient private funds during the primaries to be able to run a
 competitive general election against a candidate who does not accept public
 financing, while also being able to opt into the public financing system
 for the general election if the other party's nominee also agrees to use
 the system."
     According to the letter, "The public financing system for general
 elections was good enough for Presidents Carter, Reagan, Bush, Clinton and
 Bush to use in winning the presidency. It ought to be good enough for the
 next president to use as well."
     The letter adds, "To date, Senator Obama and Senator John McCain (R-AZ)
 have publicly committed to use the public financing system in the 2008
 general election if nominated by their party and if their major party
 opponent also uses the system."
     The letter states, "We urge you to make a public commitment now to use
 public financing in the general election if you are nominated and if your
 major party opponent agrees to use the system."
     According to the letter, "The legislation to fix the presidential
 public financing system was introduced in the Senate by Senator Russell
 Feingold (D- WI) and in the House by Representatives Marty Meehan (D-MA),
 Christopher Shays (R-CT) and David Price (D-NC)."
     The letter adds, "Support for this legislation is a key test of where
 you and other presidential candidates stand on preserving the integrity of
 the presidency and providing sufficient resources for presidential
 candidates to be heard and to run competitive races."
     The letter states, "We urge you to co-sponsor this legislation if you
 are in Congress or endorse it if you are not, and to publicly commit to
 working for its enactment if you are elected."
     The letter also notes, "A number of us will also be asking you to co-
 sponsor or endorse legislation to establish a system of spending limits and
 public funds for congressional races, after legislation to create such a
 system is introduced in Congress."
     A copy of the letter is available at http://www.democracy21.org.
 
 

SOURCE Democracy 21