Side-by-Side Comparison of Proposed and Current Presidential Public Financing Systems
More and more candidates are opting out of the presidential public financing system. Other candidates, unable to keep up with the blistering fundraising pace, are already dropping out of the race altogether. Both trends are a testament to the need to update the system. In the three decades since its creation in the wake of the Watergate scandal, Congressional opponents of the public financing system have killed nearly every attempt to allow the system to keep pace with the changing face of presidential campaigns. This has occurred despite the fact that the presidential public financing system has played a vital role in our democracy and has greatly benefited politicians of all stripes— from Ronald Reagan to Bill Clinton. The Campaign Legal Center has created a detailed side-by-side comparing the current system with the Presidential Public Funding Act of 2007 which has been introduced in the House (H.R. 776) and Senate (S. 436) to modify the system in time for the 2012 presidential election.
