Rep. English introduces bill to deal with campaign issues

WASHINGTON -- As debate on campaign finance reform moves to the House of Representatives, U.S. Rep. Phil English of Erie, R-21st, re-introduced legislation designed to eliminate the practice of bundling and increase local involvement in the election process.
The English bill would ban the practice of bundling, in which an intermediate agent collects checks for a specific candidate and made payable to that candidate. The practice allows a party or political action committee to evade the legal limits on contributions, English said.
The bill would also require that 50 percent of contributions to any candidate come from within that candidate's home state, and 50 percent of them must be made by individuals.
"Stressing local money in elections aligns the constituent's interest with the donor's interests," English said.
He said his bill isn't a substitute for other legislation such as the proposed McCain-Feingold bill but would tackle two specific areas of campaign fund raising not addressed in the Senate bill.