Washington, D.C. - Nick Nyhart, the executive director of Public Campaign, today praised Rep. John Tierney (D-MA) for his spirited and determined testimony before the House Administration Committee, chaired by Rep. Robert Ney (R-OH).

“When it comes to insisting on real campaign finance reform, the public is ahead of most politicians, but not John Tierney,” said Nyhart. “His proposal for ‘Clean Money, Clean Elections,’ which now has 49 co-sponsors in the House, is the future of campaign finance reform.”

“Only by offering ‘Clean Money,’ full public financing, to candidates for office, can you break the corrupting influence of wealthy special interests on our electoral process,” Nyhart added. “Rep. Tierney understands that closing the soft-money loophole is only a first step toward a level-playing field.”

Nyhart praised Chairman Ney for opening his hearing to proponents of far-reaching reform, and called on him to listen to the real pioneers of campaign finance, the more than 75 legislators in Maine and Arizona who were elected under their states’ path-breaking Clean Elections systems last year. Many of these Clean Elections incumbents would never have run for office if it were not for the new system.

“The future of reform is already happening in the states, which have always been the ‘laboratories of democracy’,” Nyhart said. “Maine’s and Arizona’s Clean Elections systems worked. They lowered spending, reduced the influence of outside money, leveled the playing field, freed up candidates’ time and encouraged more people of both parties to run. Chairman Ney should extend his hearings and invite elected officials from Maine and Arizona to testify about this promising new approach.”

Copies of a new 19-minute video documentary, narrated by Bill Moyers, describing the “The Road To Clean Elections” in Maine and Arizona are available upon request. Contact Rick Bielke at 202-293-0222 for more information.