Senate strips public funding from party conventions

By Eric W. Dolan
Thursday, June 21, 2012

The Senate on Thursday approved an amendment to the farm bill that would prevent taxpayer dollars from being used for party conventions.

The amendment was introduced earlier this month by Sens. Mark Udall (D-CO) and Tom Coburn (R-OK). They said the conventions had become party-like celebrations that shouldn’t be subsidized by taxpayers.

“I am pleased that the Senate so quickly approved this common-sense, bipartisan proposal,” Udall said. “Political party nominating conventions have become elaborate celebrations for political elites. The Senate’s vote today underlines that taxpayers should not be responsible for footing the bill for these partisan events.”

The Senate approved the amendment by a 95-4 vote.

Eric W. Dolan

Eric W. Dolan has served as an editor for Raw Story since August 2010, and is based out of San Diego, California. He grew up in the suburbs of Chicago and received a Bachelor of Science from Bradley University. Eric is also the publisher and editor of PsyPost. You can follow him on Twitter @ewdolan.