Reform Discussion Topics

Budget Social Security Reforms Health care Medicare & Medicaid Defense Taxes Transforming Government Political Reforms

The upcoming elections are of critical importance to our future, and as registered voters, you have the opportunity to change our nations course. I want to thank you for taking time out of your weekend to attend this town hall. By attending, you already have expressed your desire to be engaged during this election season, and it is people like you who will make a difference on Election Day and beyond. This is especially true in Ohio, where the voters, as usual, will have a large impact on the election results. Ohio voters must be as informed as possible, and we hope this event will educate and engage you about the fiscal challenges facing the U.S., and most importantly, show you there are many potential solutions. This booklet will help guide you through the various reforms we will highlight during this town hall. On the following pages you will find a range of nonpartisan solutions that can gain bipartisan support. We hope that it will not only be a guide for the event, but that you will use it in the coming months to learn more about these issues prior to Election Day. In addition, you can use what you learn to ask questions of candidates, and importantly, hold them accountable for their answers. You can also learn more about the facts and solutions on our website KeepingAmericaGreat.org. I hope you will share this booklet with your friends and family to educate and empower other voters, not only in Ohio, but everywhere in the country. It is time for voters to collectively demand action and reform from elected officials. Thank you again for your participation, and for setting an example we hope our fellow citizens will follow.

Budgeting
Enact No Budget, No Pay
REFORM 1
According to Article I of the Constitution, the federal government cannot operate unless Congress appropriates money. Congressional appropriations should be based on a federal budget, and the related spending bills should be passed before the end of the fiscal year (Sept. 30th). However, in recent years, Congress has failed to pass a joint budget resolution or all of the related spending bills by September 30th. Rather, it has passed continuing resolutions to authorize the government to continue spending at current levels. This reform would suspend the salaries of all members of Congress, beginning on October 1st, until both houses of Congress pass a federal budget and all related spending bills.

KEy FacTs
Although appropriating money is Congresss primary constitutional responsibility, it has failed to do so in a timely fashion. Over the past sixty years, Congress has passed all related spending bills on time only four times. In fact, Congress has not passed a joint budget at all since 2009, and for the past three years it has relied mostly on continuing resolutions. Passing continuing resolutions creates waste and disruption. When Congress passes a budget, it has the opportunity to look critically at each of its spending programs and cut back on waste. Without a budget, federal agencies are unable to plan for the future and often have to halt, or accelerate programs abruptly, which can increase overall costs. Unpredictable cash flows can create situations where money has to be spent before the end of the fiscal year thus accelerating profligate spending because of the use it or lose it mentality of government.

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Budgeting
Recapture Control Over The Budget
REFORM #2
Requires any new tax cuts and spending programs to be paid for through equal reductions in spending or increases in revenues (Pay-As-You-Go Rules). Even when Congress does pass a budget, the majority of federal spending essentially runs on autopilot. Many of the federal governments biggest programs, such as Medicare, Medicaid, and Social Security are mandatory spending programs: Congress has no ability to budget how much the government spends on them from year to year (for instance, Medicare spending is determined largely by the number of Americans who are eligible for and opt to receive benefits). This reform would make almost all federal programs discretionary and give Congress the ability to limit all federal spending other than Social Security and interest payments.

KEy FacTs
Politicians like to promise additional spending or tax cuts, without paying for them, or having a plan to pay for them. Mandatory spending is projected to account for 67% of federal spending in 2012. This means that only a small portion of the budget is devoted to some of the central functions of government, including defense, foreign relations, homeland security, and law enforcement all of which are discretionary spending. A century ago, almost all government spending was discretionary. In 1912, the only expense Congress had no control over was interest payments.

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Reform Federal Budget Controls.

REFORM #3
Require any new tax cuts or spending programs to be paid for through reductions in other spending or additional revenues (Pay-As-You-Go Rules). Currently, one of the most significant federal budget controls is the debt ceiling, which places a fixed dollar limit on how much debt the government can legally accumulate. If the debt ceiling is not raised by an act of Congress, the U.S. Treasury loses its authority to borrow money and many government operations must be suspended. This reform would replace the debt ceiling with debt-to-GDP targets, meaning that government debt would not be allowed to exceed a certain percentage of the size of the U.S. economy. However, if government debt were to rise above debt-to-GDP targets, the government would not have to stop borrowing immediately. Instead, prospective spending cuts and tax increases would automatically be triggered to return to the debt to a specified level within a reasonable period of time.

KEy FacTs
The United States is the only nation with a debt ceiling. Debt ceilings punish governments for past actions, causing political and economic disruption, and can create more problems than they solve. The debt ceiling has been an ineffective way of controlling the federal debt. A budget control that shuts down government operations if it is exceeded and needs to periodically be raised by Congress is asking for a political crisis. In recent years especially, the debt ceiling has served as a political tool, rather than a fiscal control mechanism.

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social security Reforms

Raise The Taxable Wage-Base Cap
REFORM #1
Social Security is funded primarily through a 6.2% payroll tax, levied on both employees and employers. Individuals only pay taxes on the first $110,100 of their income, a limit known as the wage base cap. This cap can increase each year as national average wages increase. This reform would bump up the payroll tax wage base cap to no more than $150,000, and then allow the cap to increase based on the current formula during each following year.

KEy FacTs
A significant amount of money earned by Americans is not subject to Social Security payroll taxes. When Social Security began in 1937, 92.5% of all wages collected by American workers was payroll taxable. In 2009, only 83% of all wages earned by Americans was subject to the payroll tax. Today, for 90% of all wages to be payroll taxable, the cap would have to be raised to over $200,000, according to the Urban Institute. This reform would result in a significant increase in Social Security revenues over the long term. For example, raising the cap to $150,000 would result in over $200 billion in additional deficit reduction in the first ten years.

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Gradually raise the retirement eligibility ages (by two years over 20-30 years)
REFORM #2
Currently, senior citizens are eligible to begin collecting Social Security benefits at age 62 and to collect full benefits at 66. The full Social Security retirement age is scheduled to gradually increase to 67 in 2027. This reform would gradually raise both the early Social Security eligibility age and the full Social Security retirement age another two years, to 64 and 69, respectively over the next 30 years. Afterwards, both retirement ages will automatically increase at the same rate as the average American lifespan. Disabled individuals and certain workers with physically demanding jobs would be granted an exception to these increased retirement ages.

KEy FacTs
Our nation has grown older. In 1950, there were 16.5 workers paying payroll taxes for each Social Security beneficiary. By 2012, the ratio has fallen to 2.8. The nature of the U.S. economy has changed dramatically. Life expectancy is higher today for retirees as a result of the countrys prosperity, medical technology, and change from industrial/ agriculture society to more service based employment. This change in work environment and life expectancy allows people to work longer compared to when the program was created in 1935. This reform would result in significant savings for Social Security spending over the long term.

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social security Reforms

Revise Benefit Structure Based On Income
REFORM #3
Retirees monthly Social Security benefits are designed to replace a certain percentage of the average income they previously earned curing their working lives. Currently, the Social Security benefits formula replaces a higher percentage of pre-retirement income for lower-income individuals, and a lower percentage of pre-retirement income for high-income individuals. This is because low-income retirees have a greater need for Social Security benefits. This reform would better target Social Security benefits towards those most in need by decreasing the percentage of pre-retirement income of higher income retirees and shifting the savings to increase the benefits of lowerincome retirees.

KEy FacTs
The current Social Security benefits formula already targets benefits more towards lower-income individuals. Retirees who earned an average salary of $2,000 a month during their working years (adjusted for inflation) receive about 52.4% of their former earnings in Social Security benefits. Retirees who earned an average salary of $4,500 a month receive about 41.9% of their former earnings in Social Security benefits. This reform would make Social Security slightly more progressive without turning it into a welfare program. Through the use of better targeting, Social Security would support lower-income individuals more, while still providing a benefit to wealthier individuals.

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Health care
Basic Level Of Healthcare Coverage For All Citizens
REFORM #1
Studies have shown that healthcare systems where individuals have strong ongoing relationships with primary care providers, and access to preventative care, are more efficient and cost-effective. Under this reform, the federal government would guarantee that all Americans are insured to receive basic wellness, preventative, and catastrophic care. This basic level of health insurance would only cover individuals essential medical needs, and would allow individuals to purchase supplementary insurance with their own money or as part of their employers compensation program. A healthcare coverage system of this design would also incorporate both individual choice and private sector competition.

KEy FacTs
A large percentage of Americans are uninsured, compared to other major nations. The United States spent $7,960 per person on healthcare, compared to $4,218 in Germany. Yet, almost 18% of Americans remain uninsured, while only 0.2% of legal German residents are uninsured, according to NPR. Hospitals are required to provide emergency room care to everyone, insured or not. In 2010, caring for the uninsured cost hospitals $39.3 billion and accounted for 5.8% of total expenses, according to the American Hospital Association. Providing a basic level of care to all citizens would improve total public health and decrease overall health care cost.

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Health care
Revise Payment Practices To Be More Evidence Based
REFORM #2
Doctors in the United States are often paid on a fee-for-service basis, which means that they earn money based on the quantity of services provided to patients, not the quality. This reform would begin to change the ways in which government health insurance programs pay doctors, in order to cut back on excessive procedures and reduce costs. For instance, the government would assemble a group of medical professionals to determine based on the best available research which procedures are the most effective in any given situation. Health care payment systems would be revised to evidence-based payment versus payment based on activities.

KEy FacTs
One reason healthcare costs are so high in the United States is the number of unnecessary procedures. Some studies estimate that 30% of all medical care provided in the U.S. shows no demonstrable benefits to patients. If anything will bankrupt the federal government it will be out-of-control healthcare costs. Projected health spending in 2012 accounted for about 21% of total government spending, and that number is projected to grow to 37% by 2040.

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Phase Out The Tax Exclusion For Employer-Provided Health Insurance

REFORM #3
According to the Census Bureau, 55.3% of Americans receive health coverage through their employers. Yet, although employersponsored health insurance is a form of compensation, just like wages or salaries, it is excluded from both the income tax and the payroll tax. Individuals who buy private health insurance for themselves are taxed on their purchase. On the other hand, individuals do not pay such taxes when their employer provides their insurance. This reform would phase out the tax preference for employer provided health insurance and subject it to the same taxation as other forms of compensation.

KEy FacTs
The tax exclusion of employer-provided health insurance is the biggest tax loophole in the tax code. The Office of Management and Budget projects that based on the laws in effect at the end of 2011, by not taxing employer-provided health insurance, the US government will lose $170.7 billion in tax revenue for 2012 and $1.01 trillion for the period 2013-2017. This provision of the tax code is partially responsible for Americas rising health costs. Employers are incentivized, for tax reasons, to pay workers with health benefits rather than cash wages and other benefits, which is why healthcare spending on employees is disproportionately high.

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Health care
Reform Medical Malpractice Laws
REFORM #4
Patients who believe that their health care providers have treated them negligently and caused them medical harm can sue for medical malpractice, and in some cases receive jury trials. Under this reform, malpractice claims would be tried in special malpractice courts and decided by judges. To determine whether doctors have acted negligently by choosing to use or forego a particular procedure, these courts would be required to examine evidence about the effectiveness, necessity, and riskiness of the procedure in question. This would help prevent frivolous lawsuits and the defensive medicine, associated with them, which drives up cost.

KEy FacTs
Current malpractice law gives doctors the incentive to perform as many procedures as possible, no matter how unnecessary or costly. Every time a doctor chooses not to perform a procedure he or she runs the risk of being sued, even if the procedure in question is not medically necessary or cost-effective, or is so called defensive medicine. By reducing healthcare costs, malpractice reform would bring down government spending. One recent malpractice reform bill considered by the Congress was estimated to save $57 billion over the next ten years.

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Medicare & Medicaid

Impose An Annual Budget For Medicare Spending
REFORM #1
In the 2012 fiscal year, Medicare spending is projected to account for about 4% of the entire economy and 12.6% of all federal spending. It is one of the most expensive single items in the budget, yet Congress has no control over how much money is spent on the program. Instead, the law mandates that the federal government pay for every medical procedure that senior citizens are entitled to under the current Medicare eligibility formula, no matter how high the total cost. This reform would put a cap on the amount of money that the federal government can spend on the Medicare program each year based both on what care seniors need and how much the government can afford to spend.

KEy FacTs
Medicare costs have spiraled out of control. In 1965, a congressional committee projected that, by 1990, Medicare would cost the government $9 billion. In fact, the government spent $63 billion on Medicare in 1990 and is projected to spend $478 billion for 2012. The U.S. is the only major industrialized nations without a budget for health care expenditures. The government already pays for about 48% of all health spending in the United States, and without a budget on future spending health care costs will consume the majority of the federal governments resources. Out of control health care costs could bankrupt the country. We must achieve a better balance between compassion and cost when public resources are involved.

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Medicare & Medicaid

Make Medicare Premium Subsidies More Income-Based
REFORM #2
Parts B and D of Medicare, the voluntary programs which cover doctors services and prescription drugs, are partially funded by premiums paid by beneficiaries. However, the majority of the cost is paid for from general tax revenue. In fact, the federal government heavily subsidizes Medicare premiums for all but 5% of the most affluent beneficiaries. Almost all beneficiaries receive a 75% subsidy on their premiums, regardless of their income and wealth. This reform would amend the formula that determines Medicare premium subsidies to target the largest subsidies towards lower-income individuals and to increase premium costs for beneficiaries who can afford them.

KEy FacTs
Almost all Medicare beneficiaries receive the same premium subsidy from the federal government. In 2012, a retiree with a $20,000 income and a retiree with an $80,000 income both paid the same Part B premium each month because the government subsidized both equally. Only 5% of Medicare beneficiaries receive a smaller premium subsidy from the government. Medicare subsidies used to be much lower. When the program was started in the 1960s the government subsidized 50% of each individuals premium. Now, the subsidy has risen to 75%. This has contributed to the combined Medicare program being underfunded by an estimated $37 Trillion.

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Fund Medicaid Through Block Grants To The States

REFORM #3
The federal government is currently required by law to fund a certain percentage of each states Medicaid expenditures, no matter how many people that state enrolls in the program. This reform would allow the federal government to pay each state a fixed sum every year (a block grant) to be spent on Medicaid coverage that would be indexed annually at a rate lower than the historical health care cost growth. The amount of funding for each state would be based on the number of low-income and high-need individuals the state is required to cover under minimum Medicaid coverage standards.

KEy FacTs
Currently, the amount of money the federal government spends on Medicaid each year is theoretically unlimited. From 2000 to 2011, Medicaid spending grew (133% unadjusted; 82% adjusted for inflation). Federal Medicaid spending is out of Washingtons control because it is dependent on the amount of coverage that states choose to provide. As the United States continues to expand primary health care coverage Medicaid will shift to become more of a source of supplementary health insurance for the poor. This will return the program to its purpose of helping those truly in need.

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Defense
Require Consideration Of Cost In Defense Planning
REFORM #1
Defense officials are required to ignore cost when considering requirements (e.g., a new weapons system). Requirements may actually be wants as opposed to needs, because when cost is not part of the question the line between the two can become rather blurry. The end result is a very long wish list with a number of pet projects that are possibly neither essential nor affordable. This reform would make Department of Defense planning more realistic, because the Pentagon would have to consider the realities of a world and a federal government with limited resources.

KEy FacTs
The Department of Defense budget is gigantic. Even after adjusting for inflation, the Pentagons budget has grown by more than 30% since 1990. It is possible to reconcile Americas military and budgetary needs. The Pentagon can and must maximize value from its available resources all while managing risk.

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Right-Size Our Force Structure, Footprint And The Pentagon Bureaucracy

REFORM #2
As the United States prepares to scale down its presence in Afghanistan and Iraq, there are still U.S. bases all around the globe, thousands of active duty troops and an ever-expanding Washington bureaucracy. This reform would cut down on the number of military bases abroad, adjust the number of active duty servicemen based on the likelihood of a credible security threat, and make sure that most of the militarys administrative functions are handled by civilians, rather than uniformed officials and contractors. It would also appoint a highlevel person in the Pentagon who would be tasked with streamlining the Pentagons bloated bureaucracy.

KEy FacTs
The U.S. military is everywhere. As of September 30th, 2011, there are 1,456,862 active duty U.S. military personnel. According to Politifact, American soldiers are on the ground in 148 of the worlds 195 nations. The Department of Defense is the biggest bureaucracy in the entire federal government. The departments operations are so complex and its finances are so poorly managed that it cannot even be audited. In addition, the Pentagon cannot even provide a reasonable estimate of the number of contractors it employs.

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Defense
Reform Current Acquisition And Contracting Practices
REFORM #3
The Department of Defense relies on several private contractors to develop and produce weapons systems and military technology, with $1.58 trillion currently invested in 96 major defense acquisition programs. However, many of these purchases are made without sufficient knowledge of the systems technical capabilities and often without firm and fixed requirements for quality and performance. This reform will require the Department of Defense to reconsider and revise the way it does business with contractors, including its bonus reward practices.

KEy FacTs
Acquisition programs are often late and over budget. In 2011, according to the Government Accountability Office, 80% of all defense acquisition programs cost more than initial estimates. In addition, the average program faces production delays of 22 months. Yet defense contractors continue to make millions of dollars in profits every year, and performance bonuses are the rule rather than the exemption Congress has cut back on several acquisition programs midway through production because of poor planning. Originally, the Air Force envisioned producing 750 F-22s. Because of high costs, production delays, and updated technology Congress decided to halt production at 195 F-22s.

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Modernize Current Compensation And Benefit Practices

REFORM #4
In most organizations people are paid or compensated on scale depending on their role within the organization and their related performance. For example, a brain surgeon receives better compensation than a secretary. In the military, current pay is based on rank and does not take into account value or risk. This means a cook and rifleman of the same rank would have the same base pay, even though the riflemans job is much riskier. Furthermore, over half of military pay is in the form of deferred benefits (e.g. pension and retiree health care).

KEy FacTs
Military pay has grown at an unsustainable rate. From 2001 to 2011, military pay and benefits per person increased by 46% after adjusting for inflation. The military provides the same health care benefits for (part-time) National Guard and reserve members as (fulltime) active duty members of the military. In addition, the men and women in the National Guard and their families are provided with the same comprehensive health care coverage even when they are not on active duty. These individuals deserve benefits, but it is imprudent and unsustainable to offer the same benefits subsidies.

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Taxes
Broaden The Individual Income Tax Base By Eliminating Loopholes
REFORM #1
Eliminating the dozens of loopholes, deductions, exemptions, exclusions, and credits from the tax code would raise government revenue almost enough to close the annual budget deficit. This reform would eliminate most of these individual income tax expenditures, including the special lower tax rate for capital gains and dividends, while at the same time consolidating tax brackets and reducing marginal tax rates for individuals (and businesses that are taxed as individuals). This comprehensive tax reform approach can help to enhance economic growth, simplify the tax system, improve fairness, and generate more revenue.

KEy FacTs
Tax expenditures cost the government more than the biggest spending programs. In 2012, the United States is projected to lose out on about $942 billion of tax revenues because of the dozens of loopholes in the individual income tax code, according to the Tax Policy Center. Tax expenditures disproportionately benefit special interests and wealthy Americans. The Tax Policy Center estimates that, in 2011, households with over $103,000 in income received 67% of the benefits of tax expenditures. Tax expenditures make our tax system more complex and subject to greater abuse.

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Make Income Tax More Inclusive And Progressive By Asking More People To Pay Something But The Wealthy To Pay More
REFORM #2
According to a Tax Policy Center estimate, 46.4% of American households did not pay any federal income tax in 2011. About half of these households were exempted from paying federal income tax through standard provisions in the tax code, such as the personal exemption for dependents. The other half of households took advantage of special loopholes in the tax code, such as itemized deductions, which lowers their taxes owed to zero. This reform would establish a ceiling level of income below which no household would be expected to pay federal income tax. The tax code would then be reformed so that all households with income above this stated level would pay some amount of federal income tax under a new simplified progressive tax system, whereby the wealthy would also have higher effective tax rates.

KEy FacTs
Many of the households currently paying no income tax are not lowincome. In 2011, 30% of households making between $33,542 and $59,486 paid no income tax. In a fair tax system, everybody who is able to contribute to paying the cost of government operations should. Although many households pay local, state, and payroll taxes, the federal income tax is the main source of funding for the U.S. governments constitutional responsibilities and central operations.

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Taxes
Make The Corporate Tax Code More Competitive
REFORM #3
Major multinational corporations have many options of where to locate their operations and invest their resources. Public companies are legally obligated to maximize returns to their shareholders, making countries with lower corporate taxes more likely to attract business, along with the jobs and investment that come with it. This reform would lower the top corporate income tax rate, eliminate all taxes on corporate profits earned outside the United States, and allow corporations a deduction for the dividends they distribute. To make up for some of the lost revenue this reform would also eliminate or reform most existing loopholes in the corporate tax code.

KEy FacTs
The United States statutory corporate tax rate is currently the highest of any major developed nation. The Tax Foundation estimates that U.S. corporations pay an average effective rate of 27.9%, one of the top five highest rates in the world. The average corporate tax rate of all other developed nations is 20.3%. The United States is also one of the only countries to tax corporate profits earned outside its borders (although it does offer companies a credit for profits that have already been taxed abroad). The U.S. corporate tax code is especially hard on small businesses. Many small businesses are taxed as individuals, but if they are incorporated they often do not have the time and resources to take advantage of loopholes in the corporate tax code like large corporations do. In 2012, the U.S. federal government is projected to forgo $151 billion in corporate tax revenue as a result of loopholes, deductions, and credits.

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Transforming Government
Develop A Strategic Plan For The Federal Government
REFORM #1
Successful corporations and other entities have a strategic plan to guide their actions, allocate resources and measure results. This reform would make planning a mandatory part of executive branch policies. It would require that the executive branch have a government-wide plan with clear explicit objectives, accompanied with a set of performance metrics that will measure the success of policies, programs, and other initiatives.

KEy FacTs
In the 223 years since the Constitution was ratified, the United States has never had a strategic plan. The governments tax and spending strategy has been equivalent to throwing mud at the wall and seeing what sticks. The U.S. government is spending over $3.6 trillion a year and grants tax preferences worth over $1.1 trillion a year. Beyond the dollar amounts, it also issues thousands of regulations and engages in a wide variety of other activities each year without a comprehensive plan or any way to measure success.

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Transforming Government
Create A Government Transformation Task Force
REFORM #2
This reform would create an independent body, a Government Transformation Task Force, to recommend ways the federal government can operate more efficiently and cost effectively. The task force would be made up of citizens with proven track records of transforming organizations, not current government officials or members of special interest groups. It would issue periodic reports outlining ways to help government focus on results, plan strategically, streamline operations, leverage technology, adopt best practices, and identify opportunities for improved performance. As a way of insuring that the task forces work is taken seriously, Congress would be required to consider each of the task forces proposals in a timely fashion.

KEy FacTs
In the 1940s, Congress created the highly successful Commission on Organization of the Executive Branch of the Government. The Commissions role was to clean up the bureaucratic mess of government agencies that had popped up during the Great Depression and World War II. It proposed several bold reforms, including the creation of the CIA and the Joint Chiefs of Staff. Seventy percent of its proposals were passed into law by Congress. Congress has become too bogged down by the day-to-day to focus on the big picture. An independent body would be able to accelerate reform and help restructure how government works. The normal government processes have failed. The government has not been able to identify and adopt the broad range of transformational reforms needed to make the federal government more future focused, results oriented, effective, responsive, and sustainable.

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Political Reforms
Reform The Redistricting Process
REFORM #1
Every ten years, states are required by the Constitution to redraw their congressional districts to ensure that each member of Congress represents has a roughly equal number of constituents. However, during each redistricting process both political parties have historically worked to draw districts that over-represent the voters of one party and to help incumbent members of Congress get re-elected. This reform would require states to redraw districts in such a way that makes congressional elections as competitive as possible given geographic constraints, while still complying with the Voting Rights Act of 1965. This could be done through new laws in each state, or through a constitutional amendment.

KEy FacTs
Only a few congressional elections each year can truly be called competitive. In 2010, 85% of all congressional representatives were re-elected and this was an unusually low number. In fact, in each election from 1996 to 2008, no fewer than 94% of House incumbents were re-elected. Competitive congressional elections will make candidates more responsive to the American people and willing to compromise. Politicians would be held accountable for their positions each election and would have to appeal to independents and members of the opposite party to stay in office.

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Political Reforms
Hold Integrated And Open Primary Elections
REFORM #2
The candidates for each congressional seat are determined by partisan primaries where each political party elects a candidate to compete in the general election. Typically, the only voters allowed to vote in a partys primaries are those registered with that party. Under this reform, the candidates in each congressional election would instead be chosen by integrated primaries, in which all candidates for a congressional seat Democrats, Republicans, third party candidates, and political independents would run in the same primary, and the top two vote-getters would advance to the general election. These primaries would be open to all registered voters.

KEy FacTs
Partisan primaries in non-competitive districts are one reason why Washington is so polarized. Politicians running in partisan primaries feel pressure to adopt extreme views and reject compromises in order to appeal to their partys base. This has led to numerous general elections offering voters a choice between two extremes. Californias 2012 Congressional candidates were determined by integrated primaries.

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Campaign Finance Reform

REFORM #3
In 2010, the Supreme Court ruled in Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission that it is unconstitutional to bar corporations or unions from spending money on political speech, such as advertising. The decision led to the creation of Super PACs: organizations that can accept an unlimited amount of donations from individuals, unions, and corporations, and spend it on advertising and political advocacy. Super PACs are required to disclose their donors on a monthly or quarterly basis, although there are loopholes that allow some donors to retain anonymity. This reform would amend the Constitution to specify that only individuals who have the right to vote can contribute to political and other entities trying to influence elections. In addition, this reform would require all political organizations to disclose all their donors and contributions in a timelier manner.

KEy FacTs
The 2012 election has been flooded with donations from wealthy individuals, corporations, unions, and other special interest groups. According to Politico, as of August 7th, 2,100 donors giving $50,000 or more have contributed about $200 million to the presidential election. Special interest money in politics can harm efforts to make the government more fiscally responsible. The needs of wealthy individuals, unions, and corporations are not always in line with the broader public interest.

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Political Reforms
Institute Term Limits
REFORM #4
Under the Constitution, there is no limit on the number of terms that members of Congress can serve. This reform would limit all representatives and senators to no more than 12-18 years in office, and would be enacted by a constitutional amendment.

KEy FacTs
Several members of Congress have been in office for decades. By the end of this term, 92 representatives and 25 senators will have served continuously in their respective chambers for 20 years or longer. Long-serving politicians weaken the democratic process. Congressmen that are reelected term after term tend to lose touch with the needs of the constituents who elected them. Although voters retain the ability to vote their representatives out of office, this becomes more difficult with each term their leaders stay in Washington due to the power of incumbency. Career politicians view their positions as long-term jobs rather than what our Founding Fathers intended, temporary public service. The fear of not getting re-elected serves to reduce their willingness to tell the truth and make tough choices for the greater public good.

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Comeback America Initiative 211 State Street, Suite 401 Bridgeport, CT 06604

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