When the end of March rolls around it seems that everyone is focused on one thing - the NCAA's March Madness basketball tournament. Members of Congress are no exception - though many are using the event to rake in campaign cash.

Democratic Congressmen John Yarmuth (Ky.), John Sarbanes (Md.), and David Price (N.C.) each introduced public financing legislation last night. Congressman John Larson, chair of the Caucus' DARE Task Force on campaign finance and electoral reform issues, will work with the members to develop a bill that combines the best parts of all three. Rep. Yarmuth is taking over for Rep. Larson on the Fair Elections Now Act (HR 269), legislation Public Campaign has endorsed since its House introduction in 2009.

Dear Class of 2012,

Congratulations on your election to Congress, freshman class of 2012! Now it's time to get to work. Policy meetings? Haha, no. Constituent outreach? Not so fast. Find your way around the Capitol grounds? Don't be silly, there's only one place you need to know how to get to: your fundraising call center.

Public Campaign released a new report: "Un-Shared Sacrifice: How ‘Fix the Debt’ Companies Buy Washington Influence & Rig the Game" yesterday, which details how a coalition of 95 companies, including some of the country’s largest corporations, are urging Congress to “Fix the Debt,” through a plan that mostly hurts middle class families while preserving tax breaks and windfalls for big corporations.

From the executive summary:

By: Adam Smith and David Donnelly

The New York Times reports today that some House and Senate Republicans, facing an onslaught of attacks from outside groups, are finally ready to take action about our broken campaign finance system.

Public Campaign Action Fund President Nick Nyhart joined U.S. House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi, Rep. John Larson (D-Conn.), and several other House members today to talk about the "Democratic DARE (Disclose, Amend, Reform, Elect) agenda to clean up our electoral system and return power in Washington to the voters."

You can watch his speech below.

Sen. Tom Harkin (D-Iowa) has released a blistering new report on the for-profit college industry, noting that:

Public Campaign Action Fund issued a statement this morning after Roll Call reported that Rep. Mike Fitzpatrick (R-Pa.) has introduced eight tariff measures that would directly benefit a major campaign donor, United Color Manufacturing. 

Try not to laugh, but citing a lack of influence in Congress, bankers have formed a new super PAC: Friends of Traditional Banking.

From the story in the American Banker: "Congress isn't afraid of bankers," adds Roger Beverage, the president and CEO of the Oklahoma Bankers Association. "They don't think we'll do anything to kick them out of office. We are trying to change that perception."

In an op-ed today, Rep. Chellie Pingree (D-Maine) speaks out against the U.S. Supreme Court's Citizens United decision and advocates for the Fair Elections Now Act.

Rep. Pingree, an original co-sponsor of the legislation, notes how the Fair Elections-style system in her home state of Maine has seen success and how that could translate to a better, more inclusive system on the federal level: