Should Public Funds for Presidential Elections Be Repurposed for Students and Teachers? (H.R. 1827)

What is H.R. 1827?

(Updated December 2, 2021)

This bill — the Students and Teachers Over Politicians (STOP) Act — would terminate public funding of presidential election campaigns and transfer the remaining funds in the Presidential Election Campaign Fund (PECF) to students and teachers under Title II of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965, which funds grants aimed at preparing and training teachers and school administrators.

Specifically, of the funds remaining in the PECF, $37,802,400 would be transferred to the 10-Year Pediatric Research Initiative Fund and the remainder would be transferred to the Secretary of Education to carry out Title II ESEA activities.

Argument in favor

Taxpayer money should be used to invest in ordinary citizens’ futures, not to fund politicians’ campaigns. Presidential candidates are already trending away from using PECF funds, anyway, so it makes sense to end the program and spend that money on training educators.

Argument opposed

Public funding for elections acts as a counterweight against big money’s influence in elections and levels the playing field between presidential candidates, especially for candidates outside the two major political parties.

Impact

Education; students; teachers; schools; ESEA; PECF; 10-Year Pediatric Research Initiative Fund; and the Secretary of Education.

Cost of H.R. 1827

A CBO cost estimate is unavailable.

Additional Info

In-Depth: Rep. Debbie Lesko (R-AZ) introduced this bill to terminate public funding of presidential election campaigns and transfer the President Election Campaign Fund’s (PECF) remaining money to students and teachers:

“Recently, House Democrats passed H.R. 1, a mammoth bill dramatically expanding the public financing of elections. Taxpayer funds should not be used to line the pockets of politicians, but instead to invest in our future. My bill will give $372.4 million to teachers who spend each day educating America’s children. I think everyone can agree that teachers need this money, not Washington politicians.”

Rep. Lesko criticized H.R. 1, the For the People Act, after it passed the House on a party-line vote:

“H.R. 1 is a radical bill that lines the pockets of politicians with taxpayer dollars by giving them a 6:1 match on campaign contributions. Can you imagine how many more nasty campaign TV commercials, signs, and robocalls you’d be seeing if this bill became law? H.R. 1 totally encroaches on states’ rights.  We don't need the federal government telling our state and local county election officials how to do the job they are already doing.”

Former Federal Election Commission (FEC) Chairman Michael Toner told Bloomberg Business that no serious presidential aspirant takes public financing seriously anymore. He argues, “Taking matching funds has really been seen as the scarlet letter. It says you’re not viable and you’re not going to be nominated by your party.”

Of Note: The Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) is America’s oldest and largest federally-funded education program. Passed as part of the Lyndon B. Johnson administration’s War on Poverty campaign, its main purpose is to help underprivileged children meet challenging state academic standards. Title II of the ESEA deals specifically with preparing, training, and recruiting high-quality teachers, principals, and other school leaders.

The Presidential Election Campaign Fund (PECF) was established in the wake of the Watergate scandal. It uses tax dollars to: 1) match the first $250 of each contribution from individuals that an eligible presidential candidate receives during the primary campaign and 2) fund the major party nominees’ general election campaigns and assist eligible minor party nominees. The PECF is funded by taxpayer money from a $3 tax checkoff on the 1040 federal income tax form, which asks taxpayers whether they’d like to designate $3 of their taxes paid to the Presidential Election Campaign Fund (somewhere between four to 12 percent of taxpayers check “yes”). When taxpayers check “yes,” three of their tax dollars are placed in the Fund. Checking “yes” doesn’t increase a taxpayer’s tax bill or decrease their refund.

Politicians’ use of PCEF funds has decreased dramatically in the 21st century, as they can raise more money through fundraising than they can receive from the PCEF. In 2008, both Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton rejected public funding during the Democratic primary. During the 2008 general election, Republican nominee John McCain took public funds, but Obama passed there, as well. In 2012, both Obama and Republican candidate Mitt Romney refused to take public money in both the primary and general elections. In 2012, Obama and the Democratic Party raised over $1 billion, and Romney and the Republicans raised $993 million. By contrast, the PCEF would’ve paid out $91.2 million to each candidate.

Media:

• Sponsoring Rep. Debbie Lesko (R-AZ) Press Release
  
• Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (Context)
  
• FEC - Public funding of presidential elections (Context)
  
• Tax Foundation (Context)
  
• NPR (Context)
  
• Fivethirtyeight (Context)