Most ELCA Bishops Sign Letter Calling for Campaign Finance

     CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The Rev. H. George Anderson, presiding bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), and 51 ELCA synod bishops signed a March 16 letter urging Congress to pass campaign finance reform legislation.  The letter was sent to members of the U.S. Senate, as Congress considers the Bipartisan Campaign Finance Reform Act of 2001.
     The legislation, which would ban so-called "soft money" from political campaigns, is commonly known as "McCain-Feingold."  The bill is named for its authors, U.S. Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) and U.S. Sen. Russ Feingold (D-Wis.).
     The letter was signed by a total of 286 U.S. religious leaders from several denominations. It was part of an initiative sponsored by Religious Leaders for Campaign Finance Reform, convened by the National Council of Churches of Christ in the U.S.A. (NCC).  The coalition includes leaders from more than 20 Christian denominations or churches, and from the Reform Jewish Movement and the Unitarian Universalist Association.
     The religious leaders urged congressional representatives "to support the bill in its current form in order to restore credibility to the democratic process and ensure that persons and groups with extraordinary wealth do not continue to have undue influence in our elections," according to the letter.
     "While further reform, including voluntary major public financing of election campaigns, will undoubtedly be necessary, the McCain-Feingold bill is a significant first step in building fairness and public confidence in our system of government," the letter said.
     Many who signed the letter were part of an open letter to Congress four years ago calling for passage of meaningful campaign finance reform, according to an NCC news release.
     Some religious leaders participated in a March 20 news conference in Washington, D.C., to raise public attention to their call for campaign finance reform.
     "Not only does the McCain-Feingold bill have bipartisan support, it also has widespread theological support," said the Rev. Robert W. Edgar, general secretary of the NCC, quoted in the news release.  Edgar also signed the letter.
     "It's a faith issue because we need Congress to act not at the behest of the special interests that can fund their campaigns but on the national interest, especially the needs of people in poverty and of children," he said in the release.
     Among the religious leaders who spoke at the news conference was the Rev. Russell O. Siler, director, Lutheran Office for Governmental Affairs (LOGA).  LOGA is the ELCA's federal public policy office based in Washington, D.C.  U.S. Sen. Paul Wellstone (D-Minn.) also spoke.

     For the complete text of the letter and the names of those who signed it, go to http://www.ncccusa.org/news/01news25a.html on the NCC Web site.

For information contact:
John Brooks, Director (773) 380-2958 or NEWS@ELCA.ORG
http://listserv.elca.org/archives/elcanews.html