In an op-ed this weekend, California State Rep. Tom Ammiano (D-San Francisco) writes that the Fair Elections Now Act would take the influence of money out of politics.

"Money in politics has tremendous influence across most of the important issues of our society, including education, the environment, health care and more. It is the central political problem of our time. But now we have a real chance for meaningful and dramatic reform.

The Fair Elections Now Act, introduced in Congress on March 31, would go a long way toward eliminating the influence of special-interest money on elected officials. It would accomplish this by offering candidates the option of participating in a program in which they could receive the lion's share of their campaign funds from the public, rather than private interests, ensuring they would be accountable to the public only."