[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 98 (Thursday, June 15, 1995)]
[House]
[Page H5987]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




INTRODUCTION OF LEGISLATION AMENDING THE FEDERAL ELECTION CAMPAIGN ACT 
                                OF 1971

  (Mr. WHITFIELD asked and was given permission to address the House 
for 1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. WHITFIELD. Mr. Speaker, today I am introducing legislation which 
will amend the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 to equalize the 
opportunity to raise campaign funds to incumbents and challengers.
  In Federal elections, under current law, political action committees 
can contribute $5,000 in a primary, $5,000 in a general election, while 
individuals can only contribute $1,000 in a primary and $1,000 in a 
general election.
  Last year PAC's gave $126 million to incumbents and only $16 million 
to challengers, and PAC's historically have given 90 percent of their 
money to incumbents and very little amounts of money to challengers.
  My legislation lowers the amount political action committees can 
contribute from $5,000 to $3,000, and raises the amount that 
individuals can contribute from $1,000 to $3,000.
  Earlier this year, term limits failed in this body, and I have long 
said we do not need term limits if we have meaningful campaign finance 
reform. I urge Members to support this legislation, which will level 
the playing field and make campaigns more competitive.


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