Congressman wants to maintain status quo, attack citizen participation reforms

Washington, D.C.—The Campaign for Fair Elections slammed Rep. Joe Barton’s call for an unnecessary hearing and misinformed rant about the Fair Elections Now Act, legislation that would put elections back in the hands of voters.

“For Joe Barton, apologizing to BP didn’t go far enough--now he wants the opportunity to apologize to all the special interests in Washington, D.C.,” said David Donnelly, campaign manager of the Campaign for Fair Elections. “The Fair Elections Now Act would make government of, by, and for the people again, but Barton would prefer to maintain the broken system that he’s milked for millions of dollars from Big Oil, Wall Street, and other special interests. At no cost to taxpayers, Fair Elections would hit the special interests where it hurts--their influence.”

This summer, Rep. Barton created controversy by apologizing to BP during a House Energy and Commerce committee hearing. Rep. Barton has received $44,100 in campaign contributions from BP during his career and $1.3 million overall from the Oil & Gas industry, according to analysis of data from the nonpartisan Center for Responsive Politics.

Below are the top industries contributing to Rep. Barton’s campaign:

Rep. Barton’s statement is here.

Learn more about the Fair Elections Now Act at www.fairelectionsnow.org.