[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 130 (Thursday, September 25, 1997)]
[House]
[Page H7839]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




   CONGRESS MUST HANDLE THE MOST IMPORTANT ISSUE CONCERNING ELECTIVE 
                               DEMOCRACY

  (Mrs. MINK of Hawaii asked and was given permission to address the 
House for 1 minute and to revise and extend her remarks.)
  Mrs. MINK of Hawaii. Madam Speaker, this morning I offered the motion 
to adjourn. I offered the motion to adjourn because I do not believe 
this House has the right to sit in session unless we handle the most 
important issue concerning the elective democracy in this country, and 
that is how we raise money.
  All of us go out and tell our constituents we need money in order to 
finance our campaigns. We tell our constituents that we are governed by 
laws that say we cannot collect more than $1,000 for every election, 
and the PAC's live under similar restrictions of $5,000 for every 
election. And yet night after night we read about these people who 
contribute $100,000, $200,000, half a million dollars to our party 
committees.
  Who can fix it? It is only the Congress that can fix it, and we 
should not be in session unless we handle this. I call upon the 
leadership to schedule this item, and when they do, there will no 
longer be motions to adjourn.

                          ____________________