[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 46 (Thursday, April 17, 1997)]
[House]
[Page H1624]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




        GET CAMPAIGN FINANCE REFORM LEGISLATION PASSED THIS YEAR

  (Mr. KIND asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. KIND. Mr. Speaker, I come to the House floor after completing a 
meeting of a bipartisan task force on campaign finance reform. It is a 
freshman task force, six Democrats, six Republicans, working together 
to try to advance some comprehensive campaign finance reform.
  We are taking baby steps. It is a complex, difficult process, but we 
realize that as freshmen, as new Members of this institution, we are 
not going to be able to do it on our own. I am here today to ask for 
the leadership in this Congress to take a lead on this issue, to start 
responding to the calls for help from the American people and figure 
out a way to get big money out of the American political process.
  I wish I had a magic wand as a freshman and could wave over this 
House and get one piece of legislation passed this year, and that is 
campaign finance reform. We are running out of precious time. We have 
an off election year. We have to do it in a bipartisan fashion to be 
successful before we get into another election year cycle.
  The people back home in western Wisconsin, the district I represent, 
have a common refrain. They beg me every time I have town hall meetings 
to get campaign finance reform passed and to get big money out of 
politics. Let us start the work now.

                          ____________________