[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 119 (Wednesday, September 10, 1997)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1722]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                        CAMPAIGN FINANCE REFORM

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. LEE H. HAMILTON

                               of indiana

                    in the house of representatives

                     Wednesday, September 10, 1997

  Mr. HAMILTON. Mr. Speaker, I would like to insert my Washington 
Report for Wednesday, September 10, 1997 into the Congressional Record:

                 Reforming The Campaign Finance System

       The hearings in Congress have now built a powerful case for 
     fundamental changes in the way we finance our political 
     campaigns in America. They have uncovered negligence by both 
     political parties, with the abuses unearthed going back 
     several elections. These parties were desperate for campaign 
     dollars. They did not take care to look at the origin of the 
     dollars, but simply encouraged their flow to the party 
     coffers. There has been a lot of partisan jockeying in 
     Washington, each party trying to blame the other, and the 
     result, at least so far, has been that Congress has done 
     nothing. If that pattern continues, it would be a tragedy for 
     the American political system.


                           Public Perceptions

       Americans may not understand the details or even the basics 
     of the campaign finance system. But they are clearly troubled 
     by the role that money plays in the American political 
     system. They believe that money has an excessive influence on 
     government policy and that elected officials who solicit and 
     accept political contributions while making policy decisions 
     are under a conflict of interest.
       They understand that the search for money distracts elected 
     officials from the jobs they are elected to do, and that 
     money often buys access for one group while denying another 
     group a fair opportunity to influence the process. They 
     appreciate that the well-to-do and powerful special interest 
     groups have access to Members of Congress that they do not 
     have.
       They understand that the problem is systemic and that it is 
     not associated with a single party or a single elected 
     official. It affects all of them. The public clearly 
     understands that the present system of campaign finance does 
     not serve them well. They overwhelmingly want reform, and 
     they want it now.


                             ``Soft'' Money

       The campaign finance hearings have raised serious concerns 
     about foreign fundraising, but I do not think the problems 
     are limited to that. A large number of people and groups were 
     able to abuse the current laws, simply because those laws 
     invite abuse. The biggest abuse is the so-called ``soft 
     money'' that flowed in huge amounts to both political parties 
     during 1996 from American donors. Under current law, both 
     foreign and American money from wealthy individuals and 
     corporations can be given in unlimited amounts to the parties 
     as opposed to individual candidates. Although these funds are 
     supposed to be for party-building purposes, they are easily 
     diverted to individual campaigns. What happened in 1996 was 
     that the whole system simply spun out of control as both 
     parties aggressively sought soft money.
       Soft money has become the key source of funding for 
     political campaigns. It amounts to large-scale, unregulated 
     donations. I do not think prohibiting soft money will solve 
     all the problems of campaign finance, but it is certainly an 
     essential part of a meaningful reform package.


                       Importance of Legislation

       I believe it is simply time for Congress to legislate. We 
     do not need a lot of additional information or documentation 
     about the ease with which money has flowed into campaigns or 
     the vigor and ingenuity with which candidates have sought the 
     money from whatever source. The investigating committees are 
     correct in trying to get to the bottom of the many questions 
     that have been raised by the investigations, and the 
     possibility of bringing some criminal charges should be 
     pursued by the Justice Department. The country deserves a 
     full accounting of how the political system got corrupted in 
     1996, and those investigations should be done in as 
     bipartisan a way as possible. But before Congress goes home 
     in 1997, we should enact a tough campaign finance reform law 
     curbing the role of money in campaigns. What is needed now is 
     legislation, not more data, not more information.
       At this point, I think Congress should promptly ban soft 
     money. That would do much to slow the flood of campaign money 
     and alleviate the worst problems in campaign finance. 
     Disclosure rules should be broadened to ensure that voters 
     know who is responsible for the accuracy and fairness of 
     campaign advertising and also know who makes all the 
     contributions and how much they are. Even the most minute 
     contributions and expenditures should be revealed before 
     election day.
       And no reform is worth anything unless it has effective 
     enforcement. The Federal Election Commission has to be 
     strengthened with strong, independent-minded commissioners, 
     and with a more adequate budget. Penalties should be 
     strengthened for violators. Further reforms will undoubtedly 
     be necessary. But these should not delay action on those 
     measures that can pass now.
       It is important to note that the money-raising process goes 
     on even as politicians talk about campaign finance reform. 
     They are vigorously raising money under the old system, 
     including soft money. Already in 1997 about 2\1/2\ times as 
     much has been raised as at the same point in the election 
     cycle four years ago.
       Time is of the essence with the congressional year 
     concluding and congressional elections coming up next year. 
     Each day that the elections come closer, the passage of 
     campaign finance reform becomes more difficult.


                               Conclusion

       Almost every week now we learn more about the selling of 
     government. Political offices from the White House down are 
     being demeaned, if not corrupted. There seems to be a ``For 
     Sale'' sign on government, and that includes Congress and the 
     Executive Branch. We simply must have reform, and that 
     especially means imposing limits on the giving and receiving 
     of soft money. I see the potential for the current system, if 
     it continues its present pattern, to do serious harm to our 
     system of government.
       Now is the time for Congress to act. The campaign finance 
     issues are very well known to every Member. We deal with them 
     every day. I believe we simply have to set aside the efforts 
     to gain or maintain a partisan advantage. We have to focus 
     now on the integrity of our national government. That 
     integrity demands that we have honest, bipartisan campaign 
     finance reform.



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