wfn.org | Religious Leaders for Campaign Finance Reform (NCCCUSA)

[CAROL_FOUKE.parti@ecunet.org]

National Council of the Churches of Christ in the U.S.A.
Contact: Carol J. Fouke, NCC News, 212-870-2252
Internet: carol_fouke.parti@ecunet.org

RELIGIOUS LEADERS
FOR CAMPAIGN FINANCE REFORM

An Open Letter to Congress
Calling for Campaign Finance Reform
(For release February 13, 1997)

We urge you to support campaign finance reform as one of the first acts of
the new Congress.  In seeking such reform, we pledge our support and we
pledge to work among members of our churches and religious communities
throughout the nation to encourage support for your efforts to bring about
reform.

As religious leaders we believe in government's role in seeking justice for
all people and in building the common good.  Justice cannot be achieved
unless the rules governing the democratic process are just and fair to all.

This is your inescapable duty: to protect the process of democracy.  In a
democracy a citizen's free vote defies the powers of money, social class
and unequal access to the public media.  It signals the dignity the
Scriptures attribute to every human being as a child of God.

This is your inescapable duty: to address the wide scale cynicism that is
undercutting our faith in government.  If citizens feel their efforts are
futile in the face of economic and other forces that overwhelm them, hope
for the democratic process is destroyed.  During the last weeks of the
campaign it became clear that the present election finance laws do not
achieve their aim. They are now permitting the unfair influence of persons
and groups with extraordinary wealth and allowing them access unavailable
to ordinary citizens.  The loop hole for soft money has made a mockery of
previous attempts at campaign finance reform.

Campaign finance reform is not simply a political or public relations
dilemma but a moral matter.  The temptation to use money to buy unjust
favors is an ancient one.  The prophet Amos thundered against those
merchants in Israel who...... "sell the righteous for silver and the needy
for a pair of shoes...  and push the afflicted out of the way..." (Amos
2:6-7 NRSV).  Psalm 15 defines upright persons as those who "...stand by
their oath even to their hurt ...  and do not take a bribe against the
innocent."

The present system of financing elections has become a major scandal.  The
present system gives at least the appearance that the President, Senators
and Representatives are willing to sell their values and votes, as well as
the integrity of their offices, for the sake of campaign contributions. 
Certainly, most big benefactors must expect to become very sizable
beneficiaries of the government.

We know we are asking you to reform a system in which you have learned to
work effectively regardless of your moral judgments about its equity or
even your preferences.  We are well aware of how difficult it will be to
make substantial changes.  However, we see the inordinate 

pressure to raise funds continuing to impede the public service that those
holding office have been elected to give.  Without substantial reform we
see further erosion in the public trust.

Senators John McCain (R-AZ), Russ Feingold (D-WI) and Fred Thompson (R-TN)
along with their counterparts in the House, Representatives Chris Shays
(R-CT) and Marty Meehan (D-MA) have been working for comprehensive,
bipartisan campaign finance reform.  This bipartisan effort includes many
of the elements we regard as most critical, including a ban of "soft money"
contributions to political parties, voluntary spending limits and limited
free television time.

We regret that federal passage of major public financing for campaigns does
not seem possible this year.  Yet, we urge that the strongest possible
version of the current bill S.25 receive your early vote in 1997.  While
further reform will undoubtedly be necessary, passage of this bipartisan
first step will go a long way toward meeting moral standards and restoring
credibility and public trust in the democratic process.

Sincerely yours,

(Signatories)

The Rev. Dr. Joan Brown Campbell, General Secretary, National Council of
the Churches of Christ in the USA
Bishop Melvin G. Talbert, President, National Council of the Churches of
Christ in the USA

HEADS OF NCCC MEMBER DENOMINATIONS & COMMUNIONS

The Right Rev. McKinley Young, Bishop, African Methodist Episcopal Church 
Bishop Cecil Bishop, Bishop and Ecumenical Officer, African Methodist
Episcopal Zion Church
Rev. Dr. Daniel E. Weiss, General Secretary, American Baptist Churches USA
Archbishop Khajag Barsamian, Primate, Diocese of the Armenian Church of
America
Dr. Richard L. Hamm, General Minister and President, Christian Church
(Disciples of Christ)
Bishop Nathaniel Linsey, Senior Bishop, Christian Methodist Episcopal
Church Karen Peterson Miller, Interim General Secretary, Church of the
Brethren The Most Rev. Edmond L. Browning, Presiding Bishop, The Episcopal
Church The Rev. Dr. H. George Anderson, Bishop, Evangelical Lutheran Church
in America
The Rev. Dr. Jeffrey R. Newhall, Executive Director, International Council
of Community Churches
The Rev. Dr. Gordon L. Sommers, President, Moravian Church, Northern
Province The Most Blessed Theodosius, Primate, Metropolitan of all America
and Canada, The Orthodox Church in America
Rev. Dr. Clifton Kirkpatrick, Stated Clerk, Presbyterian Church (USA)
Dr. Bennett W. Smith, Sr., President, Progressive National Baptist
Convention, Inc.
Wesley Granberg-Michaelson, General Secretary, Reformed Church in America
Rev. Edwin F. Capon, President, The Swedenborgian Church
Rev. Dr. Paul H. Sherry, President, United Church of Christ
The Rev. William Boyd Grove, Bishop, The United Methodist Church

HEADS OF NATIONAL DENOMINATIONS AND FAITH GROUPS

Rabbi Eric Yoffie, President, Union of American Hebrew Congregations
The Rev. John A. Buehrens, President, Unitarian Universalist Association

RELIGIOUS LEADERS

The Rev. Joan S. Parrott, Ecumenical Officer, American Baptist Churches USA
Herbert Blinder, Director, American Ethical Union, Washington Ethical
Action Office
Kara Newell, Executive Director, American Friends Service Committee
Rev. Dr. Paul A. Crow, Jr., President - Council on Christian Unity,
Christian Church (Disciples of Christ)
Rev. Dr. William Chris Hobgood, Regional Minister, Christian Church
(Disciples of Christ) - Capital Area
Nancy Chupp, Legislative Director, Church Women United
Edward W. Stowe, Legislative Secretary, Friends Committee on National
Legislation
The Rev. Dr. George Dragas, Ecumenical Officer, Greek Orthodox Archdiocese
of North & South America
Terrence Miller, Director, Maryknoll Fathers and Brothers Justice and Peace
Office
Lynette Meck, Executive Director, Mennonite Central Committee U.S.
The Rev. Jesse L. Jackson, Sr., President, National Rainbow PUSH Coalition
The Rev. Douglas W. Fromm, Associate for Ecumenical Relations, Reformed Church
in America
Rev. Robert McClusky, Pastor/Ecumenical Officer, Swedenborgian Church
Rev. Dr. Bruce W. Robbins, General Secretary, General Commission on
Christian Unity and Interreligous Concerns, United Methodist Church
The Rev. Dr. Thom White Wolf Fassett, General Secretary, General Board of
Church and Society, The United Methodist Church