Eric Swalwell Quotes

I think we have to look at the whole way campaigns are financed. The No. 1 problem is PAC and special-interest money.

I also do not like the idea of soft money, these issue ads - people don't know where the money is coming from, millions and millions of dollars outside of the control of a candidate - there's no accountability.

I've made it clear that I'm not taking special interest PAC money or accepting donations from lobbyists - ever. I want to represent the interests of the citizens.

We need a complete ban on soft money, which is sort of an enveloping problem, and a ceiling on the amount of money that can be spent on a given race.

Campaign finance reform is vital. It is impossible for us to win, especially in committees, because we can never outbid the opposition.

Our democratic system is slowly being corroded and eroded by the influence of PAC money.

All contributions by corporations to any political committee or for any political purpose should be forbidden by law.

The evils of the use of corporate money in connection with political elections are so generally recognized that the committee deems it unnecessary to make any argument in favor of the general purpose of this measure.

You shouldn't have political action committees.

I'm voting for Bernie Sanders because he doesn't take any corporate money.

Unfortunately, money in politics is an insidious thing - and a loophole in our campaign finance system was taken advantage of with money going to existing or new 527 groups with the sole purpose of influencing the election.

In Maine, we are fortunate to have a Clean Elections system that allows legislators to turn down corporate special interest money. At the national level, Congress should follow Maine's example by empowering the voices of small donors.

Nobody wants campaign finance reform more than me. It would save me a fortune.

My issue with campaign finance is 100 percent disclosure. Wear a suit with patches from your big contributors. Depending on the size of the contribution, that's how big the patch should be.

I can tell you that too much money is corrupting American politics. Don't blame the American public. The U.S. Supreme Court has a lot to answer for, because it has made it impossible for Congress to reduce the corrupting influence of money on American political life.

Well I think money has been going into political campaigns for a very long time.

Soft money is the silent killer of health care reform and other legislation we need.

Not since the gilded age has our politics been opened so wide to corporate contribution and donations from secret sources.

We agree that Citizens United is a very bad decision. We don't believe outspending your opponent is the way to go, since we don't believe we will ever be outspending our opponents!

More money is being spent on our elections, with less disclosure of where that money is coming from, than ever before.

Dependence on private money to run campaigns causes pain to Republicans and Democrats alike - and business owners. It's time we did something about it. And public financing of elections should be the first step.

Until we make campaigns affordable, then we're going to have too many members of Congress out rattling the cup with special interest groups.

Stemming the tide of special interest campaign cash - and restoring fiscal responsibility in Congress - is no easy task. But there is one place where concerned citizens in both parties can begin: Changing the source of money that funds all campaigns.

We need to end unlimited, unaccountable money for all political parties by passing comprehensive campaign finance reform.

For more than a century, states have sought to protect the integrity of the democratic process at the state and local level by regulating corporate spending in elections.