Statement of Lisa Gilbert, Vice President of Government Affairs, Public Citizen
Note: Today, former Vice President Joe Biden announced that if elected, he would introduce comprehensive democracy reforms including legislation requiring small-donor public financing, the establishment a Commission on Federal Ethics (CFE) – a single government agency empowered to oversee and enforce federal anti-corruption and ethics laws – and strengthening conflicts of interest laws.
With our current backdrop of presidential impeachment due to egregious unethical conduct, the need for candidates to be on the record loudly discussing reforms to fix our system of democracy is obvious.
President Donald Trump, with his abuse of his office for personal enrichment, is the corrupt capstone on our dysfunctional system. We need renewed commitment to checks and balances, anti-corruption and to fixing our system of campaign finance.
Biden’s commitment to small-dollar public financing is significant. This policy is included in H.R.1 and would help ensure that regular Americans have a loud voice in politics. We’re excited to see its inclusion in Biden’s plan.