[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 7 (Thursday, February 5, 1998)]
[House]
[Pages H337-H338]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                   ELECTRONIC CAMPAIGN DISCLOSURE ACT

  (Mr. WHITE asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute.)

[[Page H338]]

  Mr. WHITE. Madam Speaker, in March we are going to vote on campaign 
finance reform in this House. It is a very important issue but also a 
very difficult issue, and it is made particularly difficult because 
most of the bills before us are big bills that deal with the whole 
comprehensive issue that we have to talk about.
  I have got one of those bills, and I hope that we can pass one. But 
just in case we cannot, today I am introducing what we might call a 
small bill that will deal at least with some of the problems. This bill 
is called the Electronic Campaign Disclosure Act, and what it does is 
tell the Federal Elections Commission to get into the 21st century.
  It directs the FEC to establish a database on-line to search over the 
Internet for all the information needed about campaign finances in our 
country. Every campaign would have to file within 10 days a report of 
every contribution that it receives and contributors, and PACs would 
also have to file.
  Madam Speaker, sometimes we cannot do it all in one step. The longest 
journey begins with a single step, and I think if we cannot pass a big 
bill a small bill like the one I am introducing today would be a step 
in the right direction.

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