[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 41 (Thursday, April 2, 1998)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E575]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




               ILLEGAL FOREIGN CONTRIBUTIONS ACT OF 1998

                                 ______
                                 

                               speech of

                         HON. NEIL ABERCROMBIE

                               of hawaii

                    in the house of representatives

                         Monday, March 30, 1998

  Mr. ABERCROMBIE. Mr. Speaker, I rise in opposition to the Illegal 
Foreign Contributions Act, H.R. 34.
  This bill, if enacted, would ban contributions to federal election 
campaigns by legal permanent residents. I believe this would be a 
colossal mistake and a constitutional blunder. This bill would restrict 
the First Amendment free speech rights of Legal Permanent Residents. 
These residents are required to perform citizenship obligations, such 
as registering for the military draft and serving in the armed forces, 
but we would deny them the basic citizenship rights we require them to 
defend.
  Consistently throughout federal constitutional law, Legal Permanent 
Residents have all First Amendment freedoms of full U.S. citizens. This 
has been consistently upheld by the federal courts and the Supreme 
Court. H.R. 34 would deliberately abridge and deny those rights in the 
name of campaigning finance reform. It would trample on the 
constitutional rights of hundreds of thousands of people without 
justification. The bill picks out a specific group of people and says 
we are going to prevent you from expressing your political views.
  This bill is a gag of political expression in the disguise of 
campaign reform. The reality is that hard-working, tax-paying, 
military-serving individuals are being told they can have no say over 
who is elected to determine the policies that determines their fates 
and lives.
  Mr. Speaker, I also fear that legislation that singles out specific 
groups of people for treatment different than that of citizens will 
lead us down a road to finding scapegoats when there are failings in 
our government and society. This is a dangerous precedent, and I urge 
my colleagues to think carefully before they cast their vote on H.R. 
34, and to vote against this ill-conceived ``reform''.

                          ____________________