With Pocan’s announcement, 49 members of the 116th Congress have made the pledge
End Citizens United (ECU) praised Congressman Mark Pocan today for his decision to reject corporate PAC money. Pocan joins an unprecedented number of representatives entering the 116th Congress refusing the money.
“Mark Pocan has spent his career standing up to special interests on behalf Wisconsin families, and he’s fought for reforms to unrig the system so that people have a greater voice in their government,” said Tiffany Muller, president of End Citizens United. “Now, he’s showing even more leadership by refusing to take corporate PAC money, further demonstrating to his constituents that he will always put them first. End Citizens United applauds Representative Pocan, and we are proud to stand with him to put the power of our democracy in the hands of the people.”
“While I have always made decisions based on the best interest of Wisconsin’s 2nd Congressional District, I believe that elected representatives must be transparent in demonstrating that they are working on behalf of the people, not corporations,” said Pocan. “I’m incredibly inspired by the 36 newly elected House Democrats who are committed to changing the way Washington works and as a result, have decided to join them in their efforts. With nearly ten percent of the House of Representatives as part of this effort, we can show that rejecting corporate PAC money is the best way to remain accountable to our constituents, while taking power out of the hands of corporations and restoring it to the people.”
As a co-chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus (CPC) PAC, Pocan announced in April that the group would no longer take corporate PAC contributions, making it the first major Congressional PAC to reject the money.
Next year, there will be 49 members in Congress who reject corporate PAC money. This includes: 36 new House members, 6 returning House members, 7 re-elected and sitting senators. Of the 62 newly elected Democratic members of Congress, more than half (36) are rejecting corporate PAC money.
ECU is dedicated to getting Big Money out of politics, electing democracy reform champions, and fixing the rigged system in Washington so it works for all Americans. In the 2018 election cycle, ECU spearheaded the movement among candidates to forgo corporate PAC money, leading to a historic incoming class of representatives who reject the money.
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