[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 70 (Friday, May 23, 1997)]
[Senate]
[Page S5082]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                       CAMPAIGN FINANCE HEARINGS

  Mr. WARNER. Mr. President, I am pleased to announce today that the 
Committee on Rules and Administration will be holding two additional 
hearings on the issue of campaign finance reform after the short 
recess.
  On June 18, we will be honored to have as witnesses two of our former 
colleagues, Vice-President Walter Mondale and Senator Nancy Kassebaum-
Baker. They will be speaking on their work as cochairs of a committee 
formed by President Clinton to generate public support for campaign 
finance reform. We anticipate that the other witnesses will concentrate 
on the difficult legal and policy issues involved with regulation of 
issue advocacy and independent expenditures. These two phenomena grew 
sharply in importance in 1996 and deserve a thorough review by the 
Committee.
  The other hearing, scheduled for June 25, will address the issue of 
whether certain campaign contributions are indeed voluntary. I plan to 
focus on union dues and Senator Nickles' Paycheck Protection Act, which 
would require a union member to affirmatively give the union permission 
to use his or her dues' money for partisan political activity and would 
make sure that no person is compelled to contribute to a campaign 
without their consent.
  It is my understanding that Senator Ford, the ranking minority 
member, will invite witnesses to discuss political activity by 
corporations and tax-exempt organizations, and the effect of such 
activity on the shareholders and donors to these organizations.

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