[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 22 (Wednesday, February 26, 1997)]
[House]
[Page H643]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




   REMOVAL OF NAME OF MEMBER AS COSPONSOR OF HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION 1

  Mr. BROWN of Ohio. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that my name 
be removed as a cosponsor on House Joint Resolution 1. It was placed 
there accidentally, and I ask that it be removed.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from Ohio?
  There was no objection.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentlewoman from Hawaii [Mrs. Mink] is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Mrs. MINK of Hawaii. Mr. Speaker, the politics of loopholes has 
angered the general public. We need to stop procrastinating about 
changes that need to be made in our campaign financing. There are some 
large loopholes you could run a truck through without violating the 
law. If we can't agree on all the changes and reforms that are on the 
table for discussion, at the very least we can close the loopholes.
  Today, candidates for Federal office may obtain unlimited, unsecured 
loans from banks to finance their campaigns. Banks are able to bankroll 
their chosen candidates by obtaining a mere signature on a loan form 
without obtaining security for repayment, as is customary in their 
normal course of business.
  I call upon this House to investigate how many unpaid, unsecured 
loans there are to Federal candidates.
  When do these unpaid loans, secured by no assets, become an illegal 
contribution by a bank?
  If a bank is not permitted by law to make a contribution to a Federal 
candidate, how is it allowed to make an unsecured loan? And what 
happens when this loan is not repaid? Who gets stuck? All the bank's 
depositors?
  I have introduced a bill, H.R. 783, that prohibits all Federal 
candidates from making an unsecured loan.
  This bill also requires that such unsecured loan be repaid within 90 
days after the enactment of the bill, and in the interim, prohibits 
candidates who currently have an unsecured loan from accepting personal 
funds from a board member or officer of the bank who holds the loan.
  I urge my colleagues to join me in closing at least the one obvious 
loophole in the law.
  In Hawaii the Hawaii State Legislature is concerned about the same 
thing. The senate bill introduced by Senator Matt Matsunaga, provides 
that all loans must be repaid by that general election day and if not, 
the unpaid portion becomes an illegal contribution.
  I agree that his bill is a step in the right direction, but it does 
not go far enough as noted by the Honolulu Adviser.
  Let's close the temptation, totally. Let's not allow banks to 
bankroll any election with hundreds of thousands of dollars even if it 
is repaid by election day. The ability of banks, using depositors' 
money, to advance moneys to a candidate is wrong and invites 
corruption. This practice must be outlawed. My bill, H.R. 783, does 
that. I urge my colleagues to cosponsor this necessary first step.

                          ____________________