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STATEMENT: Rep. Khanna welcomes Sen. Gillibrand’s ‘Democracy Dollars” plan, praises others to join the field

May 1, 2019

Washington, DC – Today, Rep. Khanna praised Senator Gillibrand's plan to give every voter funding to donate to campaigns. Last Congress, Khanna worked with Bruce Ackerman and Larry Lessig, the original authors of democracy dollars, to introduce "The Democracy Dollars Act" (HR 7306). He hopes every presidential candidate will back this proposal to remove the influence of money in politics from lobbyists and special interests and return it to the American people.

"The Democracy Dollars Act would ensure candidates would no longer be able to ignore their residents and only hear the wealthy contributors who can afford high-dollar fundraisers. I applaud Sen. Gillibrand for contributing her idea to clean up our democracy."

In 2015, Seattle voters became the first municipality to endorse a democracy dollars initiative for city elections. South Dakota followed in 2016 with a referendum. Rep. Khanna has penned recent op-eds with former Senator Russ Feingold and Professor Bruce Ackerman on the importance of this policy change.

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About the Office

Congressman Khanna represents the 17th District of California, which covers communities in Silicon Valley. Visit his website at khanna.house.gov. Follow him on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram @RepRoKhanna.