[Congressional Record Volume 140, Number 51 (Tuesday, May 3, 1994)]
[House]
[Page H]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


[Congressional Record: May 3, 1994]
From the Congressional Record Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]

 
                          CONGRESSIONAL REFORM

  Mr. SMITH of Michigan. Mr. Speaker, I suspect a lot of Members of 
Congress wish that political campaigns were not quite so expensive and 
that the demands to accept special interest's political action 
committee money were not so great.
  Mr. Speaker, I think it is time for Members of this House to declare 
where they stand on Congressional reform. Do they stand with the 
American people, who are demanding reform, or with the special 
interests that are investing millions of dollars in reelection 
campaigns to make sure that their special Congressman gets hired?
  We live in a time when most Americans believe that many Members of 
Congress are bought and paid for by the special interests. The best way 
to restore confidence is to remove the perception of privilege, perks, 
and PAC influence from the political process.
  Mr. Speaker, it is no secret that lobbyists come to Congress to 
influence our votes.

                              {time}  1040

  If they convince us to vote their way, advantages and possibly 
millions and millions of taxpayer dollars flow into the pockets of 
those special interests. They want to make sure that their favorite 
congressman or congresswoman gets elected, and they do that by putting 
money into their political campaigns.
  In 1992, this last election, political action committees contributed 
more than $109 million to congressional candidates. As a body, we will 
hopefully soon again debate a congressional reform package. However, if 
it is like the previous House bill that we debated, it will not serve 
the American people well. In fact, it will be a hoodwinking of the 
American people, because it really won't be reform.
  Mr. Speaker, I have some questions. First, will continuing to allow 
special interests lobbyists to decide what goes into appropriation 
bills and other legislation be good for our children and grandchildren? 
Second, will continuing to ignore the clamor to ban PAC campaign 
contributions restore America's faith that the political process 
belongs to them and not the special interests? Third, will continuing 
to exempt Congress from the laws which we impose on the taxpayers 
restore credibility to this House? Will continuing to accept 
congressional cost-of-living pay increases automatically restore trust 
as we vote to eliminate or scale back those adjustments on the elderly 
and many other Americans?
  Will continuing to raise most campaign contributions from outside our 
congressional districts convince our constituents that we are truly 
responsible and responsive to their concerns?
  Mr. Speaker, as one of what I think is 22 now Members of Congress who 
does not accept PAC contributions, I enjoy the independence. I enjoy 
not having to look back over my shoulder to see who I owe a favor to. I 
believe the answers to those questions are obvious, at least obvious to 
the American people who sent us here.
  True campaign finance reform must contain a ban on all PAC 
contributions, an end to the use of soft money in Federal elections, a 
ban on the bundling of contributions, a requirement that candidates 
raise at least half their contributions from the district 
representatives where they serve, and a requirement that corporations, 
unions, and nonprofit organizations disclose their lobbying activities 
and applying these reforms to the 1994 election.
  Mr. Speaker, it is time for the U.S. Congress to tell special 
interests lobbyists to put their wallets away so that Members of 
Congress can regain credibility and respond to the American people that 
elected them.
  Our status as Member of Congress, I believe, right now might rank us 
among the least respected professions in this country. If Congress is 
going to lead, we need the respect of the people of this country. To 
get that respect, we need dramatic reforms in the U.S. Congress.

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