[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 40 (Tuesday, April 8, 1997)]
[House]
[Page H1297]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                 AMERICA NEEDS CAMPAIGN FINANCE REFORM

  (Mr. MILLER of California asked and was given permission to address 
the House for 1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. MILLER of California. Mr. Speaker and Members of the House, a few 
minutes ago I objected to agreeing to taking up the Suspension Calendar 
for tomorrow. The reason I did so is not because I object to the bills 
that were on the Suspension Calendar; I did so because I object to 
business as usual in this House, especially when business as usual 
means that week after week this House comes back to little or no 
business that is important to the American public.
  We come back not for the budget, we come back not for children's 
health care, and most importantly, we come back not to deal with 
campaign finance reform. Yet every day the American public have new 
revelations given to them about the White House, about Congress, about 
the Senate, about the House of Representatives, about people with 
enough money getting access that no other American can possibly 
conceive of having, with powerful Members of the House and powerful 
Members of the Senate offering access for money, offering the ability 
to sit on inside councils for money, offering the ability to talk to 
Cabinet officials for money. It has got to stop.
  Today we see in The New York Times an overwhelming majority of 
Americans want the corrosive, corrupting campaign finance system 
changed, but they do not believe that Congress is serious about it. We 
are going to continue to object to this kind of do-nothing agenda and 
an agenda that fails to respond to the needs of the public on campaign 
finance reform.

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