[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 15 (Wednesday, February 25, 1998)]
[House]
[Page H583]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




         SENATOR FEINGOLD: CHAMPION OF CAMPAIGN FINANCE REFORM

  (Mr. KIND asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. KIND. Madam Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to my friend and 
colleague from Wisconsin, Senator Russ Feingold. Senator Feingold for 5 
years has courageously championed campaign finance reform. The debate 
this week in the United States Senate is a tribute to Senator Feingold 
and Senator McCain's perseverance in the face of strong opposition.
  While passage of the McCain-Feingold bill is not guaranteed, the 
Senate at least has been given an opportunity to cast an up-or-down 
vote on it. We in the House have been denied the right to any debate 
and vote on campaign reform.
  Now, many of my friends in the Republican Party have argued that our 
first step must be to investigate any campaign violations that occurred 
during the 1996 elections. I agree. As a former prosecutor, I believe 
that anyone who violated the laws of this country must be held 
accountable.
  Simply investigating the abuses, however, ignores the largest 
problem, that most of the worst problems of the campaign system are 
legal: Soft money, unregulated issues ads, and independent expenditures 
from groups accountable to no one.
  Madam Speaker, these are the real problems of our campaign system and 
the citizens of Wisconsin have asked us not to accept ``no'' for an 
answer on this.

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