Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.), a 2020 Democratic presidential contender, unveiled a new proposal on Wednesday that would give every voter $200 to donate to political candidates.
Gillibrand says the program, called “Democracy Dollars” is aimed at getting big money out of politics and giving power to ordinary Americans who might not otherwise participate in the electoral process.
{mosads}“To get anything done in Washington, we have to address the money and greed that corrupts politicians and prevents progress on issues like gun violence prevention, lowering the cost of prescription drugs and addressing climate change,” Gillibrand said.
“My Clean Elections plan is a critical structural change that gets big money and special interests out of politics, and ensures that elected officials in Washington are beholden only to the people who sent them there,” she added.
Candidates would only be eligible to receive the “Democracy Dollars” if they commit to not taking any other donations over $200, a threshold that is far lower than the current maximum donation of $2,800.
Gillibrand is proposing to pay for the program by taxing the wealthiest Americans. She says that eliminating tax loopholes for corporate CEOs with high compensation would raise $60 billion over 10 years.
The 2020 Democratic contenders have been trying to one-up each other with pledges and proposals meant to weaken the influence of big donors.
Most of the candidates have sworn-off corporate PAC money, and each has sought to highlight the number of small-dollar donations they’ve received.
Gillibrand raised $3 million in the first quarter of 2019 and has struggled to break out from the big field of Democratic contenders, registering zero percent support in the Quinnipiac University survey released on Tuesday.