skip to main content
skip to newscasts

Thursday, March 28, 2024

Public News Service Logo
facebook instagram linkedin reddit youtube twitter
view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Pulling back the curtains on wage-theft enforcement in MN; Trump's latest attack is on RFK, Jr; NM LGBTQ+ equality group endorses 2024 'Rock Star' candidates; Michigan's youth justice reforms: Expanded diversion, no fees.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg says rebuilding Baltimore's Key Bridge will be challenging and expensive. An Alabama Democrat flips a state legislature seat and former Connecticut senator Joe Lieberman dies at 82.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Historic wildfires could create housing and health issues for rural Texans, a Kentucky program helps prison parolees start a new life, and descendants of Nicodemus, Kansas celebrate the Black settlers who journeyed across the 1870s plains seeking self-governance.

Government "By the People" Makes a Comeback in Congress

play audio
Play

Thursday, February 6, 2014   

WASHINGTON – Backed by government reform groups and a growing list of other organizations, 128 members of the House of Representatives on Wednesday introduced the Grassroots Democracy Act to encourage citizens to take their government back from free-spending corporations.

Rep. John Sarbanes, a Democrat from Maryland, is the lead sponsor.

"People are increasingly angry at this sense that they can't be heard in Washington,” he says, “that they're being left out, their voices are being rolled over by super PACs and big-money interests here."

The bill creates a tax credit for contributions to congressional campaigns, and a matching public fund to amplify the impact of regular citizens in congressional campaigns.

E. Joy Arnold of Midway is state coordinator in Kentucky for Move to Amend, a nationwide coalition aimed at ending corporate rule. While she strongly supports public funding of campaigns, she worries it won't be enough.

"That will still not begin to touch the contributions that the obscenely wealthy in our country put into our political system," she maintains.

Sarbanes says polling shows that not just Democrats, but unaffiliated voters and Republicans, too, are concerned about the influence of big money on politics.

But Arnold fears the Grassroots Democracy Act is like throwing a marshmallow at the problem.

"I don't see how legislation can cure the problem,” she says. “I think it's going to take constitutional
amendment."





get more stories like this via email

more stories
A report from the Tennessee HealthCare Campaign recommended the federal government needs to strengthen 340B drug pricing and other federal negotiation mechanisms to make needed medicines more readily available and less expensive for hospitals to purchase and administer. (Spotmatikphoto/AdobeStock)

Health and Wellness

play sound

A recent report examined how some rural Tennessee hospitals have managed to stay afloat despite financial challenges. The report includes interviews …


Social Issues

play sound

Earlier this month, a new Arizona Public Service rate hike went into effect and one senior advocacy group said those on a fixed income may struggle …

Social Issues

play sound

Michigan recently implemented a significant juvenile justice reform package following recommendations from a task force made up of prosecutors…


Nearly 13 million Americans receive health coverage through unique plans under both Medicare and Medicaid. They are known as Dual-Eligible Special Needs Plans. (Adobe Stock)

Health and Wellness

play sound

Medicare and Medicaid are key sources of health coverage for many Americans and some people qualify for assistance under both programs. With lagging …

Social Issues

play sound

A mix of policy updates and staffing boosts has helped to put wage theft enforcement on the radar in Minnesota, and officials leading the efforts are …

More than six in 10 Americans favor keeping the abortion pill mifepristone available in the U.S. as a prescription drug, while over a third are opposed, according to a Gallup poll. (Adobe Stock)

Social Issues

play sound

New research shows more than six in 10 abortions in the U.S. last year were medically induced, and U.S. Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto - D-NV - is …

Social Issues

play sound

Colorado is working to boost the state's agricultural communities by getting more fresh, nutritious foods into school cafeterias - and a new online …

Social Issues

play sound

Missouri lawmakers are concerned with protecting people from the potential risks of the increasing accessibility of AI-generated images and videos…

 

Phone: 303.448.9105 Toll Free: 888.891.9416 Fax: 208.247.1830 Your trusted member- and audience-supported news source since 1996 Copyright © 2021