[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 118 (Tuesday, September 9, 1997)]
[House]
[Pages H7016-H7017]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




       AMERICAN CITIZENS WANT ACCOUNTABILITY IN CAMPAIGN FINANCE

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under the Speaker's announced policy of 
January 21, 1997 the gentleman from South Dakota [Mr. Thune] is 
recognized during morning hour debates for 2 minutes.
  Mr. THUNE. Madam Speaker, I too am very interested in the whole 
subject of campaign finance reform. As a first-time freshman Member of 
this body, I found out how difficult it is to try and run a campaign 
and to raise money.
  As we talk about trying to reform the law and trying to figure out 
exactly what would be the best framework and structure in which to 
govern campaigns in this country, one of the things that is clear is, 
we have to find out what things are not working today. We have seen a 
lot of evidence of late that through the various investigations there 
are a lot of things that were done that were not consistent with the 
existing law. We have to find those out.
  People get up on the other side and say, well, we need to change the 
law. Frankly, I think they would much rather change the subject.
  I would simply ask the question, what is it that my colleagues would 
have us to change? John Huang, Charlie Trie, Webb Hubbell, what are the 
things that my colleagues would have us change about all this process?
  As I have traveled the State, my State of South Dakota, some 77,000

[[Page H7017]]

square miles, people want a government that is accountable. They want 
to know that when they elect people to these offices that they can, in 
fact, trust that the job that they have elected us to do will get done 
and it will be done in good faith and honesty and integrity.
  I am a cosponsor of a bill which I would like to see considered in 
this body. It is very simple. It says simply, first, no foreign 
contributions. That seems to be a fairly straightforward assumption.
  Second, it says that 65 percent of the dollars that we raise to run 
campaigns should come from the State or district in which we live or 
reside. In other words, the people that can contribute to campaigns 
ought to be the people who can vote for us. That too, to me, seems to 
be a very simple premise of campaign finance reform.
  Third, it would limit PAC contributions to 35 percent of the dollars 
that go into a campaign.
  Those are three very fundamental, simple reforms that I think would 
clarify what the rules are of this process, and would enable us to have 
a campaign system that is much cleaner, much fairer, and that the 
people of this country will know that they are getting accountability 
from the government that they deserve.

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