Senator George Voinovich (R-OH), the Ethics Committee chairman, is considering proposals for the public financing of elections, according to The Hill newspaper. The proposals are set to come from the joint efforts of Democratic Senators Chris Dodd (CT) and Dick Durbin (IL). Voinovich stated, “Maybe it is the answer. Too much of our time is spent raising money, time spent campaigning, time buying TV ads. When everyone’s out there trying to raise money, dialing for dollars … until we deal with this issue you’re going to continue to have problems.” Durbin believes that “the heart of the lobbying reform question is still money.” Voinovich and Sen. Tim Johnson (D-SD), Ethics Committee ranking member, also released last week correspondence from the Justice Department asking the Committee not to investigate Senators tied to Jack Abramoff.