Public Campaign released the following statement today after the Federal Election Commission approved an advisory opinion in response to AT&T's request to charge low fees for text message campaign contributions:

"The Federal Election Commission should be commended for allowing AT&T and other wireless providers to charge uniformly low fees for text message campaign contributions," stated Aaron Scherb, legislative program manager at Public Campaign. "With billionaires, super PACs, and special interests using megaphones to drown out the voices of everyday Americans, text message campaign contributions can be a megaphone for the masses. Small donors deserve to have their voices fully heard in the democratic process, and text message donations, coupled with legislation like the Fair Elections Now Act or the Grassroots Democracy Act, would elevate the voices of more Americans."
 
When certain articles reported that wireless companies may charge up to 50 percent in fees for political text message donations, Public Campaign and 11 other good-government organizations sent a letter to wireless companies in September encouraging them to charge uniformly low rates for campaign contributions via text message. Public Campaign and Public Citizen also sent a letter to the FEC asking it to decide in favor of AT&T's request to charge uniformly low fees for campaign contributions via text message.