[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 70 (Wednesday, June 3, 1998)]
[House]
[Page H3979]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                       CALIFORNIA PROPOSITION 226

  (Ms. DeLAURO asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute and to revise and extend her remarks.)
  Ms. DeLAURO. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to commend the voters of 
California for rejecting Proposition 226. Republican leaders in the 
House were supporting this initiative in order to silence the voices of 
American workers and America's working families. And by voting down 
Proposition 226, California voters stood up for their right to 
participate in the political process.
  Right now, working families do not have enough say in our political 
process. In 1996, wealthy corporations and business representatives 
poured more than $650 million into campaigns, 11 times what labor 
unions, the representatives of working Americans, were able to spend.
  We need to pass genuine campaign finance reform that increases the 
participation of average working families and limits the role of 
wealthy special interests. We need less money in our political process. 
We need to restore Americans' faith in our political process. We need 
to pass meaningful campaign finance reform today.

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