As White House candidates abandon public funding, Republicans look to end system

By Ben Pershing

At some point in 2012, President Obama and his GOP opponent will formally declare whether they plan to take public funding for their general-election campaigns. If House Republicans get their way, there won’t be a choice to make.

This week, the House will vote on a bill sponsored by Rep. Gregg Harper (R-Miss.) that would abolish the Presidential Election Campaign Fund and the Presidential Primary Matching Payment Account. Any money left over in those funds would be sent to the U.S. Treasury to help chip away at the deficit.

(Harper’s bill also would terminate the Election Assistance Commission, a longtime goal of Republicans who argue that the body, established by the 2002 Help America Vote Act, has already fulfilled its purpose. Democrats strongly disagree.)