Washington, D.C. – Today Congressman Mo Brooks (AL-05) announced his co-sponsorship of H.R. 3356, the Clean Campaign Contributions Act, which seeks an expanded ban on candidates’ personal use of campaign funds from political committees. H.R. 3356 specifies that every kind of campaign committee, including committees that are unauthorized and independent of the candidate, are included in the current personal use ban.
Congressman Brooks said, “It is a breach of the public’s trust to use campaign contributions for personal use. Citizens contribute to candidates for the express purpose of exercising their first amendment freedom of speech and association rights that, in turn, advance beliefs they hold. No candidate or office-holder should ever be permitted to breach that public trust by converting political contributions to personal uses that are wholly unrelated to their public office or political campaign.”
Brooks continued, “According to the Federal Election Commission, there is currently no law that prevents politicians from using various political committees to pay their personal expenses. This practice is unacceptable, which is why I cosponsored the Clean Campaign Contributions Act that extends the current prohibition on the personal use of funds by reelection campaigns to all political committees of every kind. H.R. 3356 ensures campaign committees are treated equally regarding the personal use of funds, which is an important step in preserving the transparency and integrity of the election process.”
* To view the bill text of H.R. 3356, click here.
