For Immediate Release

WASHINGTON -- Americans want change in Washington and the reasons are clear: lobbyists roughly spend an astounding $5 million per member of Congress each year to sway members toward any number of special interests; PACs, not voters, contributed about $4 of every $10 raised by House candidates, and about one-third of funds raised by Senate candidates; and 90% of all congressional contributions are over $200 -- not exactly the "small donor revolution" we'd been hoping for.

In the latest Memo to the Next President, released today, Progressive Policy Institute (PPI) Senior Fellow Ed Kilgore outlines how the next administration can translate campaign momentum for government reform into lasting change in Washington. "Reforming Congressional Elections" calls on the next president to address reform head on by embracing congressional campaign financing and redistricting reform.

At its core, Kilgore's Memo suggests that the next administration must use the voter momentum for government reform generated by the presidential campaign to make real change a major tenet of their early days in office. Otherwise, the new president will be bogged down in a storyline of "politics as usual," and have increasing trouble with future reforms.

Kilgore's two-pronged approach starts with congressional financing reform. The voluntary public financing "clean money/clean elections" model, already utilized in seven states, can lessen the private influence over public decision-makers and offer direct candidate subsidies in exchange for strict spending limits. The second priority must be redistricting reform, and the timing is right -- the next presidential term coincides with the next round of congressional reapportionment and redistricting in 2010.

Click here for the full text of "Reforming Congressional Elections," or here for more information about the Memos to the Next President series.

"Reforming Congressional Elections" is the fourth in PPI's ongoing Memos to the Next President, a series of policy prescriptions written directly to the next occupant of the White House, so that he can hit the ground running on the problems facing Americans today. PPI experts will propose solutions on issues ranging from economic growth to national security.

For questions on "Reforming Congressional Elections" or any of our Memos to the Next President, contact Alice McKeon at (202) 608-1232 or amckeon@dlc.org.

The Progressive Policy Institute's mission is to define and promote a new progressive politics for America in the 21st century. Through its research, policies, and commentary, the Institute is fashioning a new governing philosophy and an agenda for public innovation geared to the Information Age. For additional information, Web users may access the Progressive Policy Institute, at www.ppionline.org, or contact PPI's press office at (202) 547-0001.