HR1 Aims to Remove Bipartisan Balance at FEC and Bailout Politicians with Taxpayer Funded Political Campaigns
The Massachusetts Fiscal Alliance held a Zoom press conference today calling out the Massachusetts’s congressional delegation and urging them to withdraw their support for HR1, a federal bill that would remove the bipartisan makeup of the Federal Elections Commission (FEC) and mandate that taxpayers would fund future political campaigns, essentially a bailout for politicians. MassFiscal was joined at the conference by Bradley Smith, a former Chairman of the Federal Elections Commission and one of the country’s most prominent authorities on election and campaign finance law.
“Campaign finance law agencies should never become a partisan witch hunt shop, but that is exactly what would happen under this misguided legislation. It would break up the bi-partisan makeup of the FEC and make it into a politicized attack agency. The Massachusetts Congressional delegation would benefit greatly under these new rules because they would have a majority of Democratic members on the FEC shielding them from prosecution if they commit any wrongdoing,” stated Paul Diego Craney, spokesperson for MassFiscal.
“Additionally, the provisions in the bill that would mandate taxpayers to fund future campaigns is extremely problematic, and serves as a political bailout for Members of Congress. Voters should always be able to donate to the political candidates that best represent them, and their hard-earned tax dollars should not be used to support candidates whom they might disagree with,” continued Craney.
“HR 1 is the biggest threat to free speech in decades. It would suppress Americans’ First Amendment rights while subsidizing politicians’ campaigns with taxpayer dollars. It would expose citizens to harassment for their deeply-held beliefs while transforming the Federal Election Commission into a partisan agency under control of the president. Far from a bill ‘for the people,’ HR 1’s 300 pages of new rules and restrictions on speech are a gift to Washington insiders and high-priced campaign finance attorney,” concluded Bradley Smith, Institute for Free Speech Chairman and former Federal Election Commission Chairman.