[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 13 (Monday, February 23, 1998)]
[Senate]
[Page S807]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                        CAMPAIGN FINANCE REFORM

  Mr. WELLSTONE. Mr. President, let me briefly talk about this campaign 
finance reform bill that is coming to the floor. By the way, this, I 
think, will be the business of the Senate this week. This is a core 
issue. This is the core problem, and this is going to be a real 
important debate for our country. I think it should be very clear to 
everybody in the country where all of us stand.
  I know we have differences. Probably the Chair and I have differences 
on this issue. But I can't help but believe that we can't get some good 
things done together, because I can't but believe that any of us who 
have been through these campaigns just hate this system. It is just 
crazy.
  I remember when I ran in 1990 in Minnesota the first time around. It 
was as if the only thing that mattered was how much money you had in 
terms of who gets to run, in terms of whether you have a viable 
campaign, in terms of who wins, in terms of what issues get discussed, 
in terms of who the people are who have access to the Congress all too 
often, as opposed to so many of the people who don't.
  This is a core issue, and if you believe that each person should 
count as one and no more than one in a representative democracy, all 
the ways in which big money have come to dominate politics severely 
undercut our democracy. As a matter of fact, I think it is part of what 
has led to this serious decline of participation of our citizens which 
really can only lead to decline of our democracy.
  So there are many concerns that people have, and they care about a 
lot of issues that are important to themselves and their families. But 
the problem is, they don't believe that their concerns are of much 
concern in the Halls of the Congress or, for that matter, the White 
House, because they believe that the political process in Washington, 
DC, has become so dominated by big money and special interests.
  How important it is that we at least take some steps toward 
eliminating some of this corrupting influence of this big money and try 
to begin to make these campaigns sane, try to begin to make these 
campaigns at least a little bit more of a level playing field.
  The Washington Post had an editorial today:

       McCain-Feingold is already a limited bill.

  I agree. I wish we had the clean money-clean election option passed 
by Maine and Vermont, but McCain-Feingold is a very important step 
forward.
       For lack of votes, the original proposals meant to clean 
     out the stables of congressional campaign finance almost all 
     have been dropped. Congress's indignation with regard to 
     financing of presidential United States campaigns somehow 
     does not extend to the financing of its own.

  Well, I would just ask people in Minnesota and people in the country: 
Please be vigilant. Please keep an eye out on our work. Do not let the 
U.S. Senate block reform. And do not let the U.S. Senate pass some 
piece of legislation that has that made-for-Congress look with a great 
acronym which pretends to do so much and ends up doing so little.
  That is the worst of all cases. I'd just as soon we not do anything 
as opposed to passing something which we claim will make an enormous 
difference but really does not and will just add to the disillusionment 
of people in our country.
  So I just say, this will be an important week. This is going to be an 
important debate. I hope we will get some things done.
  For my own part, if the majority leader will let us, I will have a 
set of amendments that will apply to the Congress. I will have a set of 
amendments that will apply to our campaigns which will be an effort to 
begin to go after some of the influence of big money in congressional 
campaigns along with some of the other things that we will be talking 
about, like soft money.
  If I cannot bring those amendments to the floor in this debate, I 
will bring these amendments to the floor in the next bill that comes up 
or the following bill that comes up, because I do not think there is 
any more important issue that is facing this country.
  So to Minnesotans and to people in the country: Please hold all of us 
accountable. Do not let people get away with blocking reform. Do not 
let any of us get away with passing some piece of legislation which has 
no teeth and makes really no difference at all. Make sure that we take 
some steps in this U.S. Senate that will at least get some of this big 
money out of politics and at least move us a little bit more toward 
elections as opposed to auctions going to the highest bidder.
  Mr. President, I think that I have about run out of my time. I yield 
the floor to my colleagues from Connecticut.
  Mr. DODD addressed the Chair.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Connecticut.

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