[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 66 (Thursday, May 21, 1998)]
[House]
[Page H3633]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                              {time}  1115
            CAMPAIGN FINANCE REFORM IS CRITICALLY IMPORTANT

  (Mr. HINCHEY asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. HINCHEY. Mr. Speaker, the principal issue still facing this 
Congress is the issue of campaign finance reform. Campaign finance 
reform is so critically important because it influences so much else of 
what we do in this House and the other one, as well.
  In the summer of 1995, the Speaker of this House, the gentleman from 
Georgia (Mr. Newt Gingrich), shook hands in New Hampshire with 
President Clinton. He promised then that we would resolve the issue of 
campaign finance reform. Now it is almost 3 years later, and the issue 
has still not been resolved. Not only that, but we have not been 
assured that we will have a simple up-or-down vote on the principal 
bill that seeks to reform the way we finance campaigns, the Meehan-
Shays bill.
  We need to bring that bill out to the floor. That bill needs to be 
fully debated. This House needs to have the opportunity to vote yes or 
no on Meehan-Shays. Let us have that vote as soon as possible, this 
week, next week, or the week after. Let us have that vote up-or-down on 
Meehan-Shays.

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