October 7, 2019 EditEdit with WPBakery Page Builder

Bernie Sanders, a longtime critic of the nation’s campaign finance system, is releasing a plan Monday aimed at ending the influence of corporate cash in politics, including at the 2020 Democratic National Convention.

The Vermont senator pledges to put a stop to all corporate PAC contributions to the convention if he wins the Democratic Party’s presidential nomination. AT&T, Facebook, Independence Blue Cross and other companies each gave seven-figure donations to the event’s host committee in 2016.

Sanders’ plan states that corporate lobbyists “were everywhere and filled the VIP suites” at the convention, adding that “this type of corporate sponsorship is a corrupting influence and must end if politicians are going to represent the American people.” His proposal also calls for a lifetime lobbying ban on Democratic National Committee chairs and co-chairs, as well as a prohibition on them working for companies that hold federal contracts or are trying to obtain government approval for mergers or other projects.

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“Our grassroots-funded campaign is proving every single day that you don’t need billionaires and private fundraisers to run for president,” Sanders said in a statement. “We’ve received more contributions from more individual contributors than any campaign in the history of American politics because we understand the basic reality that you can’t take on a corrupt system if you take its money.”

Sanders’ policy comes days after he was released from the hospital following a heart attack. His team has sought to project a business-as-usual tone, with two of his campaign co-chairs, Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.) and Mayor Carmen Yulín Cruz of San Juan, Puerto Rico, stumping for Sanders over the weekend in Iowa and New Hampshire.