[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 80 (Thursday, June 18, 1998)]
[House]
[Page H4724]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




 THE CORRELATION BETWEEN THE INABILITY TO GET CAMPAIGN FINANCE REFORM 
          AND THE KILLING OF TOBACCO LEGISLATION IN THE SENATE

  (Mr. MEEHAN asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. MEEHAN. Mr. Speaker, yesterday the rule for campaign finance 
reform was pulled off the floor. It is now June 18, and we still have 
not had an up or down vote on the bipartisan Shays-Meehan campaign 
finance reform bill.
  On the same day they pulled the bill and the rule over in the United 
States Senate; they killed the tobacco legislation designed to protect 
America's children from tobacco.
  It is interesting. Six million dollars from the tobacco companies to 
the Republican National Committee, $100 million in a campaign to try to 
get the Congress to do nothing on tobacco.
  The American people get the correlation between the amount of money 
the tobacco companies have invested and the inability to get campaign 
finance reform. There is a connect, and people get it. We have a 
bipartisan campaign finance reform in the House that we need to vote 
on; that is, Shays-Meehan. And we have a bipartisan tobacco bill in the 
House; that is, Hansen-Meehan-Waxman.
  Let us move on this legislation and protect America's children.

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