They say money talks. But in Washington, money doesn't just talk. It screams.
They say money talks. But in Washington, money doesn't just talk. It screams.
Powerful interests, big banks, and giant corporations spend their millions to push Congress to adopt or block legislation in their favor, or to buy off politicians during elections in exchange for access or influence.
And much of this corruption is perfectly legal, courtesy of the Supreme Court and Citizens United.
I say enough is enough. In my campaign, I've pledged not to take money from federal lobbyists or PACs of any kind. Not to take contributions over $200 from fossil fuel or big pharma executives. Not to give ambassadorships to wealthy donors or bundlers. And I'm not doing call time with rich donors or giving special access to rich people in exchange for contributions to my campaign.
Today, I'm announcing that in addition to these policies, I'm not going to take any contributions over $200 from executives at big tech companies, big banks, private equity firms, or hedge funds.
When I'm the Democratic nominee for president, I'm not going to change a thing — my campaign is and will continue to be grassroots funded.
Of course, voluntary changes like these aren't going to be enough to clean up the corruption in our elections. So when I'm president, I'll implement a comprehensive plan to permanently eliminate big money from our politics and return it to the people.
First, we must pass a constitutional amendment to overturn the Supreme Court's disastrous decisions in Citizens United and Buckley v. Valeo. Then, we must pass new restrictions to shut down corruption.
Right now, candidates for federal office can accept contributions from political action committees that are set up by corporations, even though they can't take contributions from corporations directly. My plan will make it illegal for corporate PACs to contribute to federal candidates.
It will also ban lobbyists from donating, bundling, and fundraising for candidates, and will close a loophole that lets a candidate's close friends or former staffers run a super PAC, allowing them to sneak around the coordination ban.
We're also going to ban foreign corporations from influencing our elections by prohibiting U.S. subsidiaries of foreign companies, firms that have 1 percent ownership by a single foreign entity or 5 percent ownership by multiple foreign entities, and trade associations that receive money from those entities, from spending money in American elections.
2. Expand disclosure of fundraising and spending
The system of money for influence is helped at every stage by secrecy. Under my plan, that will change.
I'm proposing that we require disclosure of major donors, bundlers, and finance events in presidential campaigns. If a campaign wants to have events at the homes of big bank executives or reward bundlers with inner-circle status, they can do that — but voters are going to be informed.
And I'm calling on every candidate in this race to disclose that information — because Democratic voters should have a right to know how the possible future leaders of our party are spending their time and who their campaign is rewarding.
My plan also addresses how our campaign finance law must be modernized for the digital age. It will include internet ads in rules regulating electioneering communications, require large platforms to keep a "political file" with information about ad buys, and require large platforms to make reasonable efforts to prevent illegal ad buys by foreign nationals.
And we're dragging dark money back into the light. Under my plan, super PACs and other dark money groups will be required to provide enough information about the sources of their money that the American people can trace it back to the ultimate individuals and entities that are funding them.
3. Put power back in the hands of the people
Right now, our system of funding elections allows individuals and PACs to donate huge sums of money to candidates and parties. And with that money comes time, access, and the corruption of our representative democracy. My plan will include a public financing program that would give a 6-1 match for small-dollar contributions, less than $200. The program will be funded by penalties coming from corporate malfeasance and major tax crimes.
My plan will also shift incentives for candidates by lowering individual contribution limits to campaigns and political parties. This will make it less valuable to spend time raising money from big dollar donors and more valuable to spend time with ordinary voters.
Finally, we'll restructure the Federal Elections Commission so that it can effectively enforce campaign finance laws. This involves reducing the number of commissioners from six to five, requiring one member to be an independent, and reinstating the authority of the FEC to conduct random audits.
Our democracy shouldn't be bought and paid for by the wealthy and powerful. It belongs to all of us. Getting big money out of politics is a critical part of fighting corruption and making the big, structural change that we need.
Elizabeth doesn't accept contributions from PACs of any kind or federally registered lobbyists. This grassroots movement is powered by supporters like you. Chip in now to help build our movement.
