Press Releases

Washington, DC – Today, U.S. Congresswoman Gwen Moore (D-Milwaukee) offered an amendment to preserve every-day Americans’ opportunity to contribute to the Presidential Election Campaign Fund (PECF), which publicly funds elections and limits candidates’ ability to accept large donations.

Congresswoman Moore said, “The Citizens United Supreme Court decision bestowed an uninhibited right of free speech, in terms of endless political donations, upon corporations.  Eliminating publicly financed campaigns can silence that speech in every day Americans and allow corporations to dominate elections even more.”

The House today considered legislation to eliminate the PECF.  Currently, between 7 and 8 percent of Americans check the box on their tax returns to direct $3 of their tax liability to the fund, which amounts to about $50 million a year.

Congresswoman Moore offered an amendment which would keep the PECF in tact by allowing Americans to instead donate $3 of their own money to the fund.  The Congressional Budget Office scored Moore’s amendment as saving $400 million over 10 years.

Moore said, “Rather than eliminating publicly financed campaigns all together, we should be working in a bipartisan way to reform this program.  We don’t need to throw the baby out with the bathwater.”

A point of order was raised against Moore’s amendment, and it would have been ruled out of order.  She discussed her amendment on the House Floor earlier today, video can be seen here