Fredreka Schouten

USA TODAY

WASHINGTON – Taxpayer funding for presidential campaigns would end under a measure moving through the U.S. House of Representatives.

By a 5-3 vote, the Committee on House Administration on Tuesday approved a bill to kill the program, which is funded by a $3 checkoff on federal tax returns. “This fund is antiquated,” said Rep. Gregg Harper, R-Miss., the committee’s chairman.

In 2008, then-senator Barack Obama opted against using public funds in his presidential campaign, becoming the first major party nominee to reject taxpayer money. No Republican or Democratic presidential nominee has used public funds since.

“The fund has died of its own lack of use,” Rep. Barbara Comstock, R-Va., said during the brief debate on the bill Tuesday.

Lawmakers said $317 million remains unused in the public funding account. The measure approved by the committee would funnel that money to deficit reduction and pediatric cancer research.

The political landscape has changed dramatically since the public-funding system took effect in 1976. Most candidates now reject taxpayer money – and the spending limits that come with it – to remain competitive in races flooded with unlimited funds from super PACs and other outside groups.

Just two presidential contenders used public money in the 2016 election: Democrat Martin O’Malley, who collected nearly $1.1 million and Green Party nominee Jill Stein, who received more than $590,000, according to the Federal Election Commission.

“The system needs improvement, not repeal,” said Pennsylvania Rep. Robert Brady, the top Democrat on the House Administration panel. He pointed to a proposal by Rep. David Price, D-N.C., that would boost the amount that taxpayers donate and would give candidates $6 for every $1 they raised from small donors.

The measure approved Tuesday faces other obstacles before clearing Congress. But lawmakers already have demonstrated they want to reduce taxpayers’ role in funding campaign-related activities. In 2014, Congress ended public funding for the Republican and Democratic national conventions.