"I am joining Senator Durbin in introducing legislation in the Senate to provide for public financing because I believe it will be a significant step in improving public confidence in the election process. The public is understandably very distrustful of what happens in public life when there are contributions by interested parties in the political process in terms of whether that influences our official decisions. I think that it does not, but there is great public skepticism on that question and I think public financing will go a long way to restoring public confidence in the electoral system."