[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 180 (Tuesday, November 14, 1995)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E2178]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                 INTRODUCTION OF THE FAIR ELECTIONS ACT

                                 ______


                            HON. RICK WHITE

                             of washington

                    in the house of representatives

                       Tuesday, November 14, 1995

  Mr. WHITE. Mr. Speaker, today, I am introducing the Fair Elections 
Act.
  This bill creates a nonpartisan commission which will have 90 days to 
recommend reforms to the laws that govern congressional elections. The 
commission's recommendations will be unamendable and placed on a 
legislative fast track. The time has come for Congress to take itself 
out of the debate and turn the decisions over to an independent group 
devoid of politics.
  Our current Federal election laws are flawed and have been since they 
were enacted following Watergate. Several aspects of that initial 
campaign finance reform effort were found to be unconstitutional by the 
Supreme Court. However, Congress never substantively revisited the 
pieces that were left standing. Therefore, the current election laws 
consist of an incomplete and complex web of regulations--a web which 
has not worked and is in need of a complete overhaul.
  An overhaul is necessary because the current election laws have 
produced a system that is biased toward incumbent Members of Congress 
and where special interest financing has a disproportionate influence 
over the process. These items must be corrected but it must be done in 
a responsible manner that restores trust and confidence in Congress and 
those who serve here. We must not, in our haste for reform, further 
muddle the process by adding regulations which only perpetuate the 
advantage of incumbency.
  Therefore, as we move forward with campaign finance reform, it is 
important that Congress engage in a substantive debate and approach the 
process with three objectives firmly in mind: First, we must encourage 
fair and open elections that provide voters with meaningful information 
about candidates and issues. Second, we must eliminate the 
disproportionate influence of special interest financing of 
congressional elections. And third, we must work to create a system 
where incumbent Members of Congress do not possess an inherent 
advantage over challengers.
  It is my belief that the Fair Elections Act will result in real 
campaign finance reform that accomplishes those objectives.
  For too long, Congress has allowed partisan politics to influence 
campaign finance reform efforts. Any campaign finance proposal that has 
seen the light of day in recent years has essentially been an incumbent 
protection plan, the bills receiving attention this year not excluded. 
Congress has not been willing to level the proverbial playing field 
where incumbent Members of Congress and challengers compete. Nor has 
Congress been able to move the campaign finance debate above partisan 
rhetoric and inject legitimate academic discourse and empirical 
findings into campaign finance reform proposals.
  The Fair Elections Act will finally allow Congress to correct the 
deficiencies of previous reform efforts. By establishing a 12 member 
commission in which no more than 4 members may be of the same political 
party, we will create an environment which is nonpartisan. That is, we 
will establish an arena where the partisan gloves that have doomed past 
reform efforts are removed and legislation is produced which 
incorporates new ideas and solutions rather than recycling the stale 
rhetoric of recent years.
  Real reform is about making sure our Federal campaign finance laws do 
not protect the incumbent. As a freshman, one of the lessons that I've 
learned is that Congress is the last body we should count on to do a 
fair, and quick, job of reforming our campaign finance laws. It has 
become clear to me that, unless Congress is forced to take an up or 
down vote on this issue, we are never going to get politics out of the 
process. No reform passed in this Congress will take effect until the 
1998 election cycle. Therefore, rather than simply tinker around the 
edges, significant reform will only take place by forming a commission 
to revamp the entire system.

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