CWA Joins NAACP and Greenpeace to Back Grassroots Democracy Act, Introduced By Rep. Sarbanes

Washington, DC – The Communications Workers of America (CWA) today announced that they have issued a joint letter, along with the NAACP and Greenpeace, in support of new legislation issued by Rep. John Sarbanes (D-MD), entitled the Grassroots Democracy Act, HR 6426.

Rep. Sarbanes’ legislation would help restore true representative democracy and combat the epidemic of unchecked money in politics by creating a voucher-based public financing system to empower all Americans to have more of a say in the political process.

The joint letter reads, in part:

“The American democracy is broken. Campaigns are no longer focused on representing and connecting to the American people. The facts speak for themselves: the last 30 years have seen a 525% increase in campaign spending; the cost of the average winning campaign for a seat in the House of Representatives in 2010 was $1.3 million. Representatives and Senators can spend as much as 70% of their time fundraising.  Americans understand something dramatic must be done to change the system. As many as 7 in 10 favor a reform of our campaign system. And yet, with the recent Citizens United decision, the floodgates of political spending have only just begun to breach. Congressman Sarbanes’ Grassroots Democracy Act would stop this by freeing our elected officials from the endless fundraising campaign cycle that consumes Washington and allowing our Senators and Representatives to return to their jobs as legislators on behalf of the American people.

The Grassroots Democracy Act’s “Democracy Dollars” voucher program increases direct representation by incentivizing campaigns to reach out to new populations and foster greater civic engagement from constituents.  It also encourages a genuine grassroots campaign model by offering a 5:1 public financing match for candidates who reject PAC money, and a 10:1 match for those who only accept grassroots donations.  The “Democracy Dollars” voucher program will be funded by a $50 tax credit/voucher so that all Americans may be heard by donating that money to the candidate of their choice.

Nevertheless, the “Democracy Dollars” voucher system alone would still leave great candidates vulnerable to SuperPACs and other well-funded, secretive groups. To combat the flood of outside spending, the Grassroots Democracy Act creates a “People’s Fund” to provide immediate supplemental support to grassroots supported candidates. A grassroots candidate under bombardment from outside spending may apply for an additional 1:1 match on their grassroots donor base therefore ensuring a more popular, yet less donor-beholden, candidate does not go unheard.”

Lessing the dominance of corporate money in politics is one of CWA’s key priorities.  Earlier this year, CWA announced the expansion of its national program to educate its 700,000 members and their families about the threat to our democracy posed by the U.S. Supreme Court’s Citizens United ruling.

Coinciding with the two year anniversary of the Citizens ruling in January, CWA organized events and actions to protest the Citizens ruling in Phoenix, AZ,  Sacramento, CA, Jacksonville, FL, Miami, FL, and Kansas City, MO.  The events featuring placards and signage noting Citizens’ embrace of the ridiculous “corporate personhood” standard; a postcard delivery campaign that resulted in 3,000 postcards from CWA members being sent to Members of Congress asking for a remedy to Citizens; and online actions to encourage CWA members and allies to post Twitter and Facebook status updates.

• Access a copy of the CWA, Greenpeace, and NAACP letter:

http://cwafiles.org/national/News/Release/Sarbanes%20Bill%20Endorsement_3org%20-%20Web%20Version.pdf

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Contact: Chuck Porcari or Elizabeth Schilling: 202-434-1168 cporcari@cwa-union.org or eschilling@cwa-union.org