[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 37 (Friday, March 27, 1998)]
[House]
[Page H1687]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                         OUR DEMOCRACY IS DYING

  (Mr. DeFAZIO asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. DeFAZIO. Mr. Speaker, our democracy is dying under a flood of 
special interest campaign dollars, and it is a problem on both sides of 
the aisle, I admit that, and it needs to change. But the Republican 
leaders today, instead of tossing the American people and our democracy 
a life preserver with real campaign finance reform, tossed out a big 
lead sinker.
  The debate on Monday will require a two-thirds vote to pass any tiny 
part of what they have deemed to be campaign finance reform, which does 
not even go to the heart of the issue, the soft money to the so-called 
``issue ads,'' and why is that? Because apparently, for now, according 
to the New York Times, there is a majority in the House to pass an 
overhaul bill that would ban political parties from taking unregulated 
money known as ``soft money'' and would also curb issue ads by outside 
groups. It is fiercely opposed by the Republican leaders whose party 
generally has a fund-raising advantage.
  Fiercely opposed, they did more than fiercely oppose it; they gutted 
democracy here today on the floor with this travesty. That will be 
nothing but a travesty of a debate on Monday.
  It is disgusting, the worst thing I have seen in 11\1/2\ years in 
this House of Representatives.

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