[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 40 (Friday, March 3, 1995)]
[House]
[Page H2587]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                        CAMPAIGN FINANCE REFORM

  (Mr. JOHNSON of South Dakota asked and was given permission to 
address the House for 1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. JOHNSON of South Dakota. Mr. Speaker, there has been a great deal 
of talk of reform and of change in this body over the past month. Some 
of it real; much of it for show; much of it cynical; and even some of 
it counterproductive, such as the current talk about cutting child 
nutrition programs not to reduce the deficit but to provide tax cuts 
for the very wealthy. But there has been one issue of change that there 
has been too much silence about, and that is the most fundamental need 
of all, and that is to reform our campaign spending laws in this 
country so that we have meaningful, real democratic elections rather 
than auctions, which is the direction this country is going now.
  I am proud to join several of my colleagues in introducing 
legislation this week which would break the gridlock that currently 
exists over campaign spending reform by following the military base 
closure commission model in creating a bipartisan commission to 
recommend campaign reform legislation. In 1 year Congress would have to 
vote on its recommendations up or down, no excuses.
  Let us clean up the political process and return it to the people of 
the United States.


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