Last night, Rep. David Price (D-N.C.) and six other Members of Congress, including Fair Elections sponsors Reps. John Larson (D-Conn.) and Walter Jones (R-N.C.), introduced HR 6448, the Empowering Citizens Act.  It combines HR 414, which would update the presidential public financing system, with a multiple matching system for congressional elections based on the New York City public financing model.  For more information on the Empowering Citizens Act, please visit Rep. Price's website.  The bill is based on a Brennan Center/Democracy 21 report issued in August.

In addition to Rep. Price's bill, last week Rep. John Sarbanes (D-Md.) introduced the Grassroots Democracy Act, HR 6426, which would create a small donor matching fund system similar to the Fair Elections Now Act.  Additionally, the bill would establish a refundable tax credit for political donations to promote the role of small donors and get more Americans involved in the democratic process.  Furthermore, the legislation would establish a "People's Fund" to provide grassroots candidates facing large outside spending with additional resources.  Here is Public Campaign's statement on the Grassroots Democracy Act.  For information on the bill, please visit Rep. Sarbanes' website.