[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 113 (Thursday, July 13, 1995)]
[House]
[Page H6920]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




           MOVE FORWARD ON CAMPAIGN FINANCE AND LOBBY REFORM

  (Mr. BENTSEN asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. BENTSEN. Mr. Speaker, as a new Member, I came to this House 
committed to enacting reform and restoring the trust of the American 
people in Congress.
  I am proud that on my first day in the House, we voted to make the 
Congress abide by the same laws other Americans do. We cut committee 
staff by one-third. We opened committee meetings to the public.
  But the job is incomplete, and we risk undermining all that we have 
already done if we don't move forward with campaign finance reform and 
lobby reform. You cannot have one without the other. It is time to stop 
the money chase which perverts the electoral process.
  It's been a month since the President and the Speaker shook hands 
over a commission to move these issues forward. The President is ready 
to act. Why isn't the Speaker? Let's vote on H.R. 1100, which I and 
others introduced before that meeting in New Hampshire, to form such a 
commission. The American people want an end to the talk of reform. They 
want action.
  The American people are concerned as we act on legislation to cut 
Medicare, roll back environmental protection, and cut taxes. For the 
wealthiest they deserve to know we are doing their work and not that of 
special interests. Let's end the talk and bring campaign and lobby 
reform to the floor.


                          ____________________