[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 133 (Tuesday, September 30, 1997)]
[Senate]
[Pages S10204-S10205]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                        CAMPAIGN FINANCE REFORM

  Mr. DASCHLE. Mr. President, I would like to use just a few minutes of 
my leader time, if I can. I know we are on the D.C. appropriations 
bill, and there is a Mack amendment pending. But until we get back to 
it, I would like to just take a couple of minutes.
  I do not know whether we will have the opportunity again today to 
talk about campaign finance reform. I certainly hope so. But on the 
possibility that we will not have that opportunity, I wanted to 
reiterate an offer that I have made publicly and I would like to do it 
for the Record, if I can.
  Obviously, we are in a situation now where the tree has been filled, 
and there are no opportunities to offer amendments. I am disappointed 
we are in that set of circumstances because, clearly, with campaign 
finance reform, as important as it is, with Senators waiting to have 
the opportunity to offer amendments, we are being denied that right. I 
hope that at some point we could clear the tree and allow Senators the 
opportunity to offer amendments. That is what a good debate is all 
about. It is not how long you spend on any given issue as much as it 
is, during whatever time you spend on the issue, whether or not you 
have had a good chance for debate.
  I must say I think the debate has been very good with regard to 
Senators coming to the floor to express themselves on an array of 
positions, and I respect Senators on both sides of the aisle who made 
the effort to come to the floor and express themselves as clearly as 
they can.
  My hope is that we can get back to this issue and have the 
opportunity, therefore, to offer amendments. The offer I made--and I 
will personally make this same offer to the majority leader--is that we 
take the Lott amendment and separate it. Democrats would be prepared, 
just as soon as we finish campaign finance reform, to allow this bill 
to be debated without filibuster, to allow the bill to be voted upon up 
or down. Obviously, we have amendments because in our view, whatever 
treatment we accord labor, we ought to accord corporations and other 
organizations that may have membership requirements. We do that,

[[Page S10205]]

and we can have a good debate about that.
  To add an extraneous amendment onto this bill, and therefore not only 
preclude Senators from offering the amendments that they had hoped they 
could but to preclude us from even getting a vote on campaign finance 
reform makes it a poison pill and nothing more. If we are interested in 
debating the issue about whether or not organizations ought to refund 
part of their membership fees, that is one question. We should have a 
good debate about it. We should have an opportunity to discuss it. And 
we are prepared to allow a final vote on that issue if we can get 
agreement on this proposal.
  If, on the other hand, we are simply using this as a guise, as a way 
in which to prevent Senators, perhaps the vast majority of Senators, 
from having a vote on campaign finance reform, from offering 
amendments, then it is nothing more than that.
  So I hope we can work through this. I hope we can find a way to 
resolve this impasse. But certainly that would be one way to do it.
  Let us take the Lott amendment. Let us set it aside. Let us have a 
good debate. Let us schedule a time when amendments could be offered. 
Senators will not filibuster the motion to proceed, nor the bill 
itself. I am hopeful we can work through that and at some point, as I 
have indicated, I will discuss this matter at greater length with the 
majority leader.
  With that, I yield the floor.
  Mr. KERREY addressed the Chair.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Nebraska.
  Mr. KERREY. I ask unanimous consent to be able to speak as if in 
morning business.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there objection? Without objection, it is 
so ordered.

                          ____________________