[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 39 (Tuesday, March 31, 1998)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E535]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




           CAMPAIGN REFORM AND ELECTION INTEGRITY ACT OF 1998

                                 ______
                                 

                               speech of

                           HON. BOB ETHERIDGE

                           of north carolina

                    in the house of representatives

                         Monday, March 30, 1998

  Mr. ETHERIDGE. Madam Speaker, I rise today in support of meaningful 
campaign finance reform.
  I strongly support a thorough investigation of the practices of both 
political parties, and I want Congress to pass serious reform of the 
campaign finance system. We must eliminate the corrupting influence of 
special interest money from our political system and restore the faith 
of the American people in our public institutions. Neither party can 
claim total innocence of Washington misdeeds, and I believe the people 
of North Carolina sent me to Congress to work in a bipartisan manner to 
serve the public interest. That is what I try to do every day as a 
United States Representative.
  At the start of the 105th Congress, the freshman class agreed that we 
would work on a bipartisan basis to reform the way that campaigns for 
public office are funded in this country. Each of us was pleased that 
the President agreed, and the Speaker of the House agreed, that we 
needed to pass campaign finance reform legislation during this 
Congress. While we were not able to bring any legislation to the floor 
last year, each of us was heartened to hear the Speaker say that there 
``would be a very fair bipartisan process of voting when we bring the 
[campaign finance reform] bills to the floor.''
  I oppose the way that campaign finance reform legislation has been 
brought to the floor of this House tonight. The leadership of this body 
has made a mockery of the democratic process. By bringing these reform 
bills to the floor under suspension of the rules of the House, these 
bills are doomed to failure because a simple majority of votes is not 
sufficient to pass a bill; instead a super-majority of votes (or \2/3\ 
of Members voting) is needed in order to pass campaign finance reform 
legislation. A good bill can pass with a simple majority; a bad bill 
will not pass with a super-majority. The Majority Leadership has made 
the determination to kill campaign finance reform legislation by making 
sure that it will not garner enough votes to pass.
  The people of this country are discouraged by this type of behavior 
from this Congress and will not be fooled by this attempt to pass ill-
conceived legislation. Rushing these bills through the people's House 
without the benefit of full and open debate makes a mockery of the 
democratic process; rushing these bills through without the benefit of 
open debate only encourages the cynicism of our society.
  H.R. 3581, the misnamed ``Campaign Reform and Election Integrity 
Act,'' allows wealthy individuals to contribute even more money, by 
doubling the current Federal dollar limits on contributions to 
candidates and tripling the limits on contributions to political 
parties and total contributions, plus indexing them to inflation. As a 
result, a wealthy person would be able to contribute $100,000 more 
every election cycle. Most of the citizens of this country believe that 
there is too much money now being spent on political campaigns, and 
instead of curbing campaign spending, this bill increases the amount.
  And, in another cynical attempt to prevent Hispanic citizens from 
voting, this bill includes a provision to establish a Federal ``voter 
eligibility confirmation system'' which allows state and local 
officials to drop voters from the rolls, solely on the basis of race or 
an ``ethnic-sounding name.'' At a time in our Nation's history when 
fewer and fewer people take the time to go to the polls and cast a 
ballot, we should not further discourage people from voting by 
intimidating them from even trying to go to the polls.
  Many Members of both the U.S. House and the U.S. Senate have 
introduced good campaign reform measures. However, in order to restore 
the trust and confidence of the American people, a way must be found to 
bridge differences and pass bipartisan campaign finance reform by the 
next election. I have cosponsored the Independent Commission on 
Campaign Finance Reform Act of 1998. This legislation will establish a 
bipartisan commission of 12 members and will recommend reforms to the 
laws that govern Federal elections. I believe that an independent 
commission provides Congress the best opportunity to overcome the 
political and legislative impediments that have stymied previous 
campaign finance reform efforts.
  Madam Speaker, the American people deserve a reform of the campaign 
election system. I hope that we will have the courage to do something 
meaningful toward that end during the 105th Congress.




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