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Cole Hails Passage of Bill to End Taxpayer Funding of Presidential Campaigns

January 26, 2011

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Rep. Tom Cole (OK-04) today released the following statement after the House passed HR 359, his bill to eliminate taxpayer funding of presidential candidates and political conventions. According to the Congressional Budget Office, the bill would save $617 million over 10 years.


"Outdated programs like the Presidential Election Campaign Fund are exactly what the American people had in mind when they voted overwhelmingly to end wasteful Washington spending. This is a program that doesn't help feed or educate a single American, doesn't build one mile of road and doesn't keep us safe. The only people who benefit from taxpayer financing of campaigns are a handful of long-shot presidential candidates. It's hard to find a more narrow, privileged special interest group than that.


"The deficit is too high to be haggling over a useless program that only 7 percent of Americans support. We have some genuinely tough choices coming if we hope to reduce the deficit, but this is a no-brainer. If Democrats aren't willing to save $617 million by eliminating taxpayer financing of presidential campaigns, what are they willing to cut?


"I appreciate Sen. McConnell's support in the Senate and look forward to working with Senate Republicans to send this commonsense proposal to the president's desk."