Joyce Opposes Proposal Allowing Tax Dollars To Fund Political Campaigns
A Democratic backed ethics and campaign finance reform proposal (H.R.1) that would have legalized the use of taxpayer dollars to fund political campaigns was opposed today by Congressman John Joyce (PA-13). Joyce voted against H.R. 1, pointing out that the legislation has been criticized by advocacy groups across the political spectrum.
"When organizations with ideologies and agendas as different as the National Right to Life and the American Civil Liberties Union both oppose a piece of legislation, that is a clear indication that it has significant flaws" said Congressman Joyce. "The people of the 13th District sent me to Washington to provide them with more control over their hard earned dollars and to protect their freedom of speech, but this bill would force them to donate to political candidates and causes they may not agree with and limits their ability to voice their opinions in the public arena unimpeded. Democrats try claim H.R. 1 is "For the People,' but in reality, this bill favors no one other than politicians and the Washington status quo."
Under H.R. 1 the federal government would provide a 6-1 match for candidates for president and Congress, which means for every dollar a candidate raises from donations of $200 and lower, the federal government would match it six times over.
The legislation would also require independent political advocacy groups to disclose their donors to the public, which would limit the ability for Americans to participate in the political process without fear of retribution. The new disclosure requirement would mean, for example, that a victim of domestic violence would not be able to donate to an advocacy campaign promoting anti-domestic violence legislation without his or her assailant being able to find out about it.
Despite being subject to ten committees of jurisdiction, H.R. 1 only received one committee markup. Therefore, in order to shine a brighter spotlight on the concerns he had with the measure that were not substantively debated in various House committees, Congressman Joyce called for a more transparent floor process for H.R. 1. Joyce partnered with Mark Meadows (R-NC) on a letter to Democratic leaders asking them to extend debate and the opportunity to add amendments to the measure, but Democrats rejected the request.
"It is extraordinary hypocritical that Democrats stifled deliberation on legislation that they claim is designed to make the political process more open and fair" concluded Joyce.
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