Anybody know what the "Government By the People Act" is?

[Scuba]

from my email, an anti-union, pro-TPP "Democrat" wants me to support the "Government By the People Act" which he says is endorsed by "PIRG".

How do we GET BACK to government of, by, and for the people?

We get big money out of politics.

That’s why I signed on today as an original cosponsor of the Government By the People Act.

That’s how we can start making Congress accountable to you again.

That’s what we must do to stop the Koch’s and others from opening their fat checkbooks to buy influence and loopholes in legislation.

For years, I’ve worked in Congress to reduce the influence of big money, special interests. The Government By the People Act does that while increasing your voice and the power of your vote.

Want to know more? Here's more about the bill.

[Tierra_y_Libertad]

1. Pelosi introduced it. More at the link

http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/nancy-pelosi-and-john-sarbanes-reversing-the-grievous-error-of-citizens-united/2014/02/04/0f197d0a-8dba-11e3-98ab-fe5228217bd1_story.html

[brooklynite]

2. Did you use the link you provided?

The Bill is being introduced today. Key elements are:

Encourage the participation of everyday Americans in the funding of campaigns by providing a refundable $25 My Voice Tax Credit. This would bring the voices of the broader public into the funding side of campaigns and democratize the relationship between money and speech.

● Establish a Freedom From Influence Matching Fund to boost the power of small-dollar contributions. To be eligible for these matching funds, a candidate would have to agree to a limit on large donations and demonstrate broad-based support from a network of small-dollar contributors. Amplified by the Freedom From Influence Matching Fund, the voices of everyday Americans would be as powerful as those of big donors.

● Provide candidates with an opportunity to earn additional resources in the homestretch of a campaign so that the voices of the people are not completely drowned out by super political action committees and other dark-money interests. In the wake of Citizens United, this kind of support is critical to ensuring that citizen-backed candidates have staying power.

Nancy Pelosi and John Sarbanes have a Washington Post op-ed supporting it.



Endorsing Organizations:

Alliance for Justice

American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME)

Americans for Campaign Reform

Brennan Center

Campaign for Community Change

Common Cause

CREDO Action

CWA

Demos

Democracy for America

Food and Water Watch

Franciscan Action Network

Friends of Democracy

NAACP

National People’s Action

NEA

OurTime.org

People for the American Way

PICO National Network

Progressive Change Campaign Committee

Progressives United

Progress Now

Public Campaign

Public Campaign Action Fund

Public Citizen

Rebuild the Dream

Represent.Us

Roostrikers

Service Employees International Union (SEIU)

Sierra Club

International Brotherhood of

Teamsters

UAW

USAction

USPIRG

Voices for Progress

Wolf PAC

Working Families

[Laelth]

5. Sounds good to me.

That, of course, means it will never pass the House, but I am glad the issue is being discussed.

-Laelth

[NobodyHere]

3. It's an interesting idea IMO

However I fear the only practical effect is to have more annoying tv campaign ads air during election season.

[liberal_at_heart]

4. That's what it sounds like, election rhetoric.

[RC]

6. "an anti-union, pro-TPP "Democrat" is supporting this?

Am I reading that right?

[Scuba]

7. Yes, you're reading that correctly.

[eossipov]

8. I think H.R. 20 (the 14th amendment changes proposed by pelosi)

I think HR20 has got a shot. I really do. The list up there is partial, it's being added to every minute, Whole Cities are calling in supporting it. It went from taking signatures last night at 4:30 when I saw it and grabbed it, to this morning listing all the supporters.

The Time is now. This is the best shot we will have at this, we need to grab the golden ring and hold on fast.
Advocate for it, call your friends, family, send a letter to the editor of your paper, call, tweet, send a fax, and then get 5 other people to do the same.

For the first time in well over two years, I feel hope starting to stir, and hope is a very powerful thing.
~e