Eliminating Taxpayer Financing of Presidential Elections

Floor Speech

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Ms. ZOE LOFGREN of California. Mr. Chairman, I rise in opposition to H.R. 359.

This bill will unnecessarily eliminate the $3 checkoff box--it's voluntary--on tax returns to fund Presidential elections, and it could increase the influence of special interests in the funding of Presidential campaigns.

Now, the bill has been fast-tracked by the Republican leadership--without any hearings, no markups, no respect for the committee process. As a member of the House Administration Committee and as a former chair of the Subcommittee on Elections, I am very concerned by the end run around our committee and the lack of deference shown to the committee and its members.

Speaker Boehner promised 2 weeks ago, when he took the Speaker's gavel, more transparency in the legislative process and to focus on job creation. Last week, the new majority fast-tracked a health care reform repeal bill. This week, they expedite the repeal of this voluntary program without the proper process. So I think the Speaker may need to revisit his statement about process and transparency.

In addition to the process concerns, I question the need for Congress to pass this bill at all. I was here as a young staffer when the Judiciary Committee took up the impeachment of President Nixon. It is worth remembering that the public finance system was created as a direct result of the Watergate scandal.

Remember Phillips Petroleum, which illegally contributed $498,000 to the Nixon campaign; or Ruth Farkas, who told the Watergate grand jury that she gave $300,000 to the Nixon campaign as an explicit exchange for an ambassadorship to Luxembourg; or the Nixon tapes that revealed that Secretary John Connally shook down dairy farmers for $600,000 in contributions in exchange for raising milk price supports--to the detriment of children who needed milk around the country.

These incidents eroded public confidence, not only in the Nixon administration, but in the entire system. In response, pursuant to the General Welfare clause of the U.S. Constitution, Congress passed sweeping election reforms, including the Presidential checkoff system.

Now, I would not argue that this system is perfect at this time. I think it does need reform.

But I think mere elimination without a committee process is a huge mistake.

I would hope that the committee could convene, that we could sort through what the problems are with this current system and how do we fix them, work in a bipartisan way to create the fixes, and then come to this House for the solution.

I urge opposition to this bill.

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