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Senator Admits the Truth: Time Spent Fundraising "Nothing Short of Amazing"
On Tuesday, Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL.) introduced campaign finance legislation intended to ease the rising fund-raising burden on politicians. The legislation would give grants and matching funds to qualified candidates for federal office who volunteer to cap individual contributions at $100.
Joining Durbin to introduce the 2009 Fair Elections Now Act were Senator Arlen Specter (R-PA), and Reps. John Larson (D-CT) Chellie Pingree (D-ME) and Walter Jones (R-NC).
Public financing supporters often cite the corrupting influence of money as the primary motivation for reform, but Senator Durbin and his bipartisan coalition focused on the issue of fundraising as an enormous time drain on public servants trying to carry out the business of government.
ANP producer Lagan Sebert was at a lightly covered press conference at which Durbin expressed his growing frustration. The amount of time members of Congress spend raising election money is "nothing short of amazing," he said.
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