Syracuse, N.Y. (NCC News) — Just like a baseball team with the bases loaded and a slugger up to bat, CNY Solidarity Coalition demanded action Monday at noon. As it does regularly, the small cluster protested outside of Congressmember John Katko’s office for an hour in hopes that Katko would vote “yes” on legislation pending in the United States House of Representatives.
The bill is aimed at limiting the influence of big donors and prevent corruption. The former Democratic opponent of John Katko, Dana Balter, attended the rally and strongly advocated for the bill, as she said the program needs to be revamped.
“We all know that our campaign finance system is broken,” Balter said. “We all know that big money interests in this country have far too much influence in our political system.
“And that’s true whether we are talking about large corporations or extremely wealthy individuals, or powerful lobbying groups with huge budgets,” she added. “The people who have too small of a voice in our system are all of us.”
The legislation, titled HR-1, is the first bill the Democrats have brought to a vote in the new House. The bill would limit the amount people can donate to $200 and force Super PACS to disclose their donors.
The bill would also allow the Federal Government to provide a voluntary 6-1 match for all president and congressional campaigns. This allows every dollar of a small donation to be matched up to six times by the federal government. By publicly financing campaigns, political corruption decreases, while a more diverse group of people become involved in politics, according to Balter.
“In Seattle, they have a small dollar matching program, and when they put this in place, the number of donors tripled,” Balter said. “Not only did the number of donors triple, but the donors to campaigns started looking a lot more like the population of Seattle. More younger people donated, more women donated, more people of color donated. It also allows regular people to run for office.”
If passed, the law would force President Donald Trump and Vice President Mike Pence to disclose tax returns from the last ten years and end partisan gerrymandering in federal elections.
