TO: Interested Journalists and Editorial Board Writers
FR: Nick Nyhart, Executive Director, Public Campaign
RE: With Corruption a Top Priority, Congress Should Pass Real Reform

In the wake of a mid-term election in which the issue of corruption loomed large in voters' minds as they went to the polls, soon-to-be House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) and incoming Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) are expected to propose major lobbying and ethics reforms. Missing from the packages under discussion, however, is a concrete proposal to make full public financing of congressional elections a major part of the reforms. Yet there is a strong force for full public financing of elections as a way to clean up Congress: 108 members of the 110^th Congress have either already signed a pledge in support of full public financing of elections along with major lobbying reforms or have been co-sponsors of legislation to enact Clean Elections campaign reform. Clean Elections is also performing well in the states where there are established programs in place. More than 200 officials will take office in January who ran using the system in Arizona, Maine and North Carolina.

It's plain as day that corruption in politics played a major role in last week's election. The national exit poll conducted for the Associated Press, CNN, and the four major television networks found corruption described an "extremely important" by more people (41%) than any other issue. Seven incumbent Republicans who were directly touched by corruption scandals-many linked to convicted lobbyist Jack Abramoff-lost their races. Even President George W. Bush acknowledged the role that scandal played in the Democratic takeover of Congress. "People want their Congress-congressmen to be honest and ethical. So in some races, that was the primary factor," said the president in a press conference following the elections.

With corruption so important in the minds of the public, Pelosi has pledged to take up lobbying and ethics overhauls as her first order of business when she assumes the speakership in January. It's expected that Reid will offer a similar package. The likely proposals include provisions prohibiting lobbyists and groups that employ them from offering members of Congress any gifts, including travel, meals, tickets, and entertainment. It's also expected that the ban on former members becoming lobbyists would be expanded from one to two years, among other reforms.

What is missing from the list, however, is a proposal to establish full public financing of congressional elections. Yet, at the core of the scandals costing people their elections in November was the pervasive problem of money in politics. Jack Abramoff used campaign contributions to help curry favor for his clients; in doing this, he acted as thousands of Washington lobbyists do every day. The scandal engulfing former Rep. Tom DeLay (R-TX) involved accusations that he illegally laundered corporate campaign contributions. The public clearly thinks that the problem is severe. Recent national polling conducted by Lake Research Partners and Bellwether Research showed that three out of four voters, across party lines, support publicly-funded elections.

One-hundred-eight members of the new Congress, are on record in favor of full public financing of elections more than a doubling of past support. During their campaigns, 96 of the incoming members signed the Voters First Pledge. Twenty-three freshmen signed the pledge, and more than half of the challengers who defeated incumbents were signers. Several more members have been co-sponsors of legislation sponsored by Rep. John Tierney (D-MA) and Rep. Raul Grijalva (D-AZ) to establish Clean Elections for all congressional races.

Public financing supporters will be well-represented within the ranks of likely new House Democratic leaders and committee chairs, including Representatives Nancy Pelosi (D-CA), Steny Hoyer (D-MD), John Larson (D-CT), Henry Waxman (D-CA), and George Miller (D-CA). They will likely find strong allies among new members, including Connecticut State Senator Chris Murphy, a supporter of the recently enacted Clean Elections law in Connecticut; Arizona State Senator Harry Mitchell, who has run successfully for state office using public financing; rural New York candidate John Hall, who prevailed over attack ads citing his support of "welfare for politicians."

Congressional advocates will have real life data to show Clean Elections works. In Maine, where the system is now in its fourth cycle, the number of Clean Elections participants and winners grew again. With some races still to be settled, better than five in six lawmakers in the next legislature will have been elected taking public financing, a new high. In Arizona, also in its fourth set of publicly financed elections, six of eight statewide electees, including Governor Janet Napolitano, were publicly financed as are at least one half of state House members and close to a third of the Senate. In North Carolina, five of six candidates elected to the state's appellate level judgeships and Supreme Court ran with public financing. Other states and cities that have approved Clean Elections laws are Connecticut; New Jersey; New Mexico; Vermont; Albuquerque, New Mexico; and Portland, Oregon.

We have a new Congress, but that doesn't mean that voters concern about corruption has disappeared. To earn the public's trust, the new leaders in Congress should look beyond lobbying and ethics reforms and move swiftly to enact full public financing of elections. It's a practical, proven campaign reform that amplifies the voter's voice while severing the ties between insider special interests and contribution hungry lawmakers. With K Street already regrouping for the new Congress, it's an idea whose time has clearly come.

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