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8 Harv. L. & Pol'y Rev. 1 (2014)

handle is hein.journals/harlpolrv8 and id is 1 raw text is: Foreword Congressman John P. Sarbanes* and Raymond O'Mara III* America today faces a historic set of challenges. The lingering effects of the 2008-2009 financial crisis have combined with structural changes in the national economy to exact a heavy toll on the U.S. workforce. Millions of Americans are looking for work' and millions more are pinned down by a wage structure that is not keeping pace with the basic cost of living. The failure to address our fiscal situation in a balanced and sensible way is compromising investments in critical infrastructure- both physical infrastructure (roads, bridges, schools, energy grids) and human infrastructure (education, health, science, research, and social welfare systems)-with dramatic consequences for the Nation's economic competi- tiveness.2 Global trends are no less daunting. In particular, climate change and its effect on the world's biological and ecological systems has the potential to fundamentally reshape the economic and political environ- ment the United States must navigate in this new century.3 To even begin meeting these tremendous challenges would require that our democratic institutions function with full force and efficiency. Yet, nearly the opposite is happening. In states and localities across the country, partisan zealots are inventing new ways to deny Americans access to the ballot box. Simultaneously, the ever-increasing influence of money on our politics has fostered an improper dependence between Congress and an elite donor class.4 This has dampened the political voice of the many in favor of those few individuals and special interests that have the deepest pockets. That imbalance creates severe distortions in electoral and public policy outcomes. The two basic imperatives of a healthy democracy-the right to vote and the right to have your vote mean something-desperately need to be * Congressman John P. Sarbanes is the Representative of Maryland's Third Congressional District in the United States House of Representatives. Congressman Sarbanes is the author of the Government by the People Act, a comprehensive legislative package designed to build a new hybrid public financing system for Congressional elections in an effort to combat the corrosive impact of money in our politics. ** Raymond O'Mara III is a Legislative Aide to Congressman John P. Sarbanes. Prior to joining Congressman Sarbanes's staff, Raymond was a Senior Associate with the Aspen Insti- tute Initiative on Financial Security. 1 Press Release, U.S. Dep't of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics, The Employment Situa- tion, October 2013 (Nov. 8, 2013), http://www.bls.gov/news.release/empsit.nro.htm. 2 William A. Galston, Crumbling Infrastructure Has Real and Enduring Costs, BROOK- INGS INST. (Jan. 23, 2013, 12:00 PM), http://www.brookings.edutblogs/up-front/posts/2013/01/ 23-crumbling-infrastructure-galston. 3See generally WORKING GRP. 11, INTERGOVERNMENTAL PANEL ON CLIMATE CHANGE, CLIMATE CHANGE 2007: IMPACTS, ADAPTION AND VULNERABILITY (M.L. Parry et al. eds., 2007) (providing a comprehensive literature overview on the impacts of climate change). 4 See generally LAWRENCE LESSIG, REPUBLIC LosT: How MONEY CORRUPTS CONGRESS- AND A PLAN TO STOP IT (2011) (arguing that Congress is dependent upon funding from large donors).

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