[Congressional Record Volume 142, Number 90 (Tuesday, June 18, 1996)]
[House]
[Page H6483]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                      REFORM OF POLITICAL PROCESS

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentlewoman from Washington [Mrs. Smith] is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Mrs. SMITH of Washington. Mr. Speaker, I stand here tonight recalling 
my first trip to Washington, DC, as someone who had just been written 
in for Congress. I did not run for Congress. I was written in. Within 3 
weeks I found myself standing on the steps looking out at Washington, 
DC, thinking, oh God, why am I here? And I know that any citizen would 
have felt the same way; it was a Cinderella story. I did not have to 
spend all the time most people do. But as I listened to that speech, 
many speeches, I realized that we were making great promises to the 
American people.
  Those promises were for a new way if the American people would give 
the Republicans control of Congress for the first time in 42 years. If 
we were elected, we Republicans, we would be different. Just trust us. 
I found out that most of my colleagues, who were new especially, were 
running against the corruption.
  They said that things have happened over the years that we do not 
agree with.
  Many of the quotes that we heard that day were resounding. I heard a 
man that I have learned to trust, learned to admire, one of the leaders 
of our party say, as I cheered, because I agreed with him, if you will 
give us control, we will wrestle or wrest control back for the people 
and take it out of the hands of special interests. I and my colleagues 
stood and cheered. We looked out. We promised America.
  Today I call on my colleagues to keep our word. The theme was 
promises made, promises kept. You would not know what we meant except 
that we said we would clean it up. I believed those promises, and I say 
today the American people need to hold us to those promises.
  I arrived to Washington, DC, to training, but the first night I 
arrived to dozens of the first and second and third night fundraisers. 
I said, well, this is interesting, did not think much about it, but 
found out that each Member of Congress was to give four to eight. I 
have got the written instructions still on my desk, that we were to 
focus on the people that came before our committees. They brought in 
people to train us. If you went to the right fundraiser training, they 
taught us how we could get people to help us, to dial for dollars, is 
that it is called. And that is in writing, and to focus on those that 
came before us so they would understand how important it was that they 
came to our fundraiser. And we could get leadership people to put their 
name on our fundraiser.
  I looked at that and I thought, how does this fit in with cleaning up 
Congress? Then I found out the Democrats do it, too. And not only that, 
that the challengers had come with some of the new freshmen and they 
were doing it, too, all on the same night.
  There are master schedules, you see, because there is only so much 
around here. They have built buildings. As you look out, some of the 
buildings are just fundraising buildings. They have floors where you 
dial for dollars, where there are funds, other floors where you have 
receptions and the Members set themselves up on the schedule.
  I looked at that and I realized that clearly that would take a little 
bit of time. But the biggest thing I realized is I could not go back 
home and tell the American people I did it. Each Member is allotted a 
time, four to eight scheduled events, on the calendar. You make sure 
there are not too many because there are only so many places to have 
them. We make sure that we have votes that day so we are sure to be 
here so there are enough Members to come to the fundraisers. You see, 
the lobbyists come there to lobby us because we are in session most 
every night, and they have access to a lot of Members.
  Then you go to someone's fundraiser, so they go to your fundraiser. 
The lobbyists come, and on the bill they send them is $500 to $1,000. 
They do not have to come. But if you were called by a Congressman or 
Congresswoman and you happened to need to go before their committee and 
you did not bring the $500 or $1,000, would you not think maybe your 
opponent would be there? It is not even subtle pressure anymore, folks. 
It is the pressure that I would have thought that we would take off.
  I am called the Democrats who played games with this and the 
Republicans who tend to be looking like they might be playing games 
with this to a vote on a bipartisan bill. There are two of them. There 
is a Senate one, 1219, and a House one. Stop playing games. Vote, do 
not just talk.

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