Corruption in Washington is holding back progress—and much of it is perfectly legal thanks to the Supreme Court. It’s time to get big money out of politics and put power back in the hands of the people—and I've got a plan for that. ewar.ren/campaign-finan…
My campaign doesn’t take money from federal lobbyists or PACs, and I don't take contributions over $200 from fossil fuel or big pharma executives. No call time with rich donors or giving them special access. And when I’m the Democratic nominee, that won't change.
Today, I’m announcing that in addition to these policies, I’m not going to take any contributions over $200 from executives at big tech companies, big banks, private equity firms, or hedge funds. My campaign is and will continue to be a grassroots campaign.
Voters have a right to know who is buying access and recognition with the possible future leaders of our party—and how much it costs. So I’m also calling on every candidate in this race to disclose any donor or fundraiser who has a special title on their campaign.
This is a start, but voluntary changes aren’t going to be enough to clean up the corruption in our elections. That’s why when I’m president, I’ll implement a comprehensive plan to permanently eliminate big money from our politics and return our democracy to the people.
I'll start by ending the corrupt system of money for influence. We must pass a constitutional amendment to overturn the Supreme Court’s disastrous decisions in Citizens United and Buckley v. Valeo. But we can and must also pass new campaign finance laws to shut down corruption.
We need to expand disclosure of fundraising and spending. The system of money for influence is helped at every stage by secrecy. We need to require additional disclosures by presidential campaigns, update laws for online political advertising, and bring dark money into the light.
Finally, we need to put power back in the hands of the people. So I will establish a public financing program that would give a 6-1 match for small dollar contributions to candidates and parties. And I'll lower the limits for how much individuals can contribute to campaigns.
Our democracy shouldn’t be bought and paid for by the wealthy and powerful. It belongs to all of us. Getting big money out of politics is a critical part of fighting corruption and making the big, structural change that we need.
