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.

On Wednesday, House Democrats, including Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and campaign finance reform champion Rep. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) held a forum centered on the issue of money in politics. They showed they understood the abysmal state of how our nation’s elections our paid for — and heard grim testimony from experts that the “perfect storm of money in politics” in 2012 will only continue to get worse if we do not enact reform.

Last week, Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) spoke at a hearing of the Senate Rules Committee to discuss efforts in Congress to increase transparency in election spending and limit the influence of special interests lobbyists and corporations.

At 1:38, he explains that although he supports the DISCLOSE Act, he argues that in order to get to the heart of the problem that Congress needs to pass the Fair Elections Now Act:

Congressman John Sarbanes (D-Md.), a strong supporter of the Fair Elections Now Act  and a co-chair of the House Democratic Task Force on Fair Governance, wrote this

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:

Here's a recap of Public Campaign and Public Campaign Action Fund's (PCAF) work from December 5 through December 9, 2011.

Last Friday, Rep. Donna Edwards (D-Md.) was confronted by Occupy protesters at a fundraiser. The protesters were there taking aim at the role of big money in politics. The fundraiser was charging from $5,000 to $75,000 for a seat. Edwards responded to the protesters as she left the event.

Here's a recap of Public Campaign and Public Campaign Action Fund's (PCAF) work from November 21 through December 2, 2011.

Yesterday, Democratic Caucus Chair, Rep. John Larson, announced that House Democrats would push for several campaign finance proposals in the month of December.

"We continue to believe that this whole system is awash [in] money and needs reform," Larson told reporters in the Capitol. "The public is increasingly wising up to that. I think you're going to see several proposals emanating from our committees and from Democratic leaders in our caucus."

“you know, if it wasn't for special-interest groups coming to see us, we wouldn't have anything to do.”

That's a quote from Rep. Gregg Harper (R-Miss.) at the 2009 hearing on the Fair Elections Now Act, a bill that would bring a small-dollar matching system to Congress. Now Rep. Harper is leading an effort to eliminate the presidential public financing system.