Sign on as a citizen co-sponsor of US House counterpart bill to Senate's Fair Elections Now Act

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From: Public Campaign Action Fund

Fair Elections in the House!

This morning Congress took another big step forward towards making Fair Elections a reality. Rep. John B. Larson (D-Conn.) and Rep. Walter Jones, Jr. (R-N.C.) introduced the Fair Elections Now Act (HR 7022), the House counterpart to the Senate Fair Elections Now Act (S 1285), sponsored by Sens. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) and Arlen Specter (R-Pa.). With this bipartisan, bicameral legislation to create a full public financing option for congressional races now on the table, we are closer than we have ever been to curbing the influence of big donors on elections.

Join Reps. Larson and Jones as they offer their support for Fair Elections by signing on as a citizen cosponsor of this groundbreaking legislation.

The 2007 introduction of the Fair Elections Now Act in the Senate put us on the road to making the Clean Elections systems that have succeeded in seven states and two cities a reality in Congress. Today's bipartisan introduction of this companion legislation in the House signals the traction this policy is gaining on Capitol Hill, where even long term incumbents are tired of relentless fundraising and eager for a change.

Fair Elections means we can put voters first and get big special interest cash out of our elections. Sign on as a citizen cosponsor of Fair Elections right now.

The need for this legislation has become crystal clear this week as Congress debates a $700 billion bailout for the financiers of Wall Street, the industry that has spent $5 billion, more than any other, to influence policy on Capitol Hill. This Fair Elections bill will remove the power of the big money crowd and return Congress to the voters.

Today represents the cumulative result of years of work pushing for Fair and Clean Elections at the state level, and in Washington, D.C. -- thanks for all you've done to get us this far.

Thank you,
Nick Nyhart

P.S. Help us move Fair Elections even further with a donation today!

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Call your U.S. Representative to co-sponsor the Fair Elections Now Act

Common Cause, a participant public interest group in this ongoing Fair Elections Action Week, has a notice out that the U.S. House now has a sister bill to the Senate's Fair Elections Now Act. Please see this blog's November 12, 2007 post for more information about the senate bill; if you agree to further legislation with this U.S. House bill, please take action at this webpage, or just call the Capitol Switchboard at 202-224-3121 .

At the end of last week, Rep. John Larson (D-CT), member of the House Leadership and new champion of "Fair Elections" public financing reform, sent a letter to the entire U.S. House asking for original cosponsors of his Fair Elections Now Act, a sister bill to the Durbin-Specter bill of the same name in the Senate.
Larson comes from the newest "Clean Elections" state, Connecticut, which will offer full public funding to candidates for state office who accept spending limits and swear off special interest cash in the 2008 election. He's also someone, like Durbin, who is simply tired of the fundraising arms race and the corrosive influence of big money on our political system.
Months ago we declared this Fair Elections Action Week--with events for public funding of campaigns happening throughout the country--and now there's a key opportunity to push this issue in Congress. We're asking folks to call their representatives and ask them to be original cosponsors of Rep. Larson's Fair Elections Now Act--so please make a call today and help give this bill some momentum and some new supporters! If you don't want to leave your call information with Common Cause, just call the Capitol Switchboard at 202-224-3121 and ask for your U.S. Representative's office to leave your message.