[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 98 (Tuesday, July 21, 1998)]
[House]
[Pages H5962-H5963]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




URGING MEMBERS' SUPPORT FOR THE BASE CAMPAIGN FINANCE REFORM BILL, THE 
                   BIPARTISAN CAMPAIGN INTEGRITY ACT

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under the Speaker's announced policy of 
January 21, 1997, the gentleman from Arkansas (Mr. Hutchinson) is 
recognized during morning hour debates for 5 minutes.
  Mr. HUTCHINSON. Mr. Speaker, in the midst of our important work on 
appropriation bills in this body we are engaged in another struggle, in 
a historic debate on campaign finance reform. I say it is historic 
because of the depth of the problem we are addressing, but also because 
of the length of the debate. It has been a long debate. We have engaged 
in over 20 hours of debate on this floor on the reform legislation.
  I rise today in support of the base bill, which is the Bipartisan 
Campaign Integrity Act. It is Hutchinson-Allen, the freshman bill that 
has been offered to this body on which all of the 11 substitute 
amendments hinge.
  Presently we have debated three of the substitute amendments. We are 
presently on the Shays-Meehan substitute. We are going to have a vote 
on that in the near future, and then, before the August recess, we will 
have final action on the campaign finance reform legislation. We will 
have a vote on the Hutchinson-Allen freshman bill.
  I ask my colleagues to join me in continuing to keep our eye and our 
focus on the Bipartisan Campaign Integrity Act, because I believe it is 
the best hope for reform that this body will consider. After months of 
debate, I am more optimistic than ever that this House will pass real 
reform. The best opportunity for that reform will be the Hutchinson-
Allen freshman bill.
  I wanted to point out this morning an article that was published in 
the National Journal by Stewart Taylor, Junior, an excellent 
examination of the campaign finance reform issue. It outlines four 
different reasons why the freshman bill is unique among all the 
proposals, offers something different, is a new direction, and merits 
our close examination and support.
  This article in the National Journal by Stewart Taylor, Junior, was 
published on July 18, 1998. It says, ``The good news is that after a 
long winnowing process, the two principal campaign finance proposals 
now before the House of Representatives looked pretty promising.''

  Of course, he is referring to the Shays-Meehan bill that is presently 
being debated, but also the freshman bill. But he says that his 
personal favorite is the freshman bill, the Hutchinson-Allen bill. He 
goes through four different points that I think merit our 
consideration.
  The first one is that the freshman bill would provide for campaign 
finance reform without seriously risking judicial invalidation. In 
other words, the author is saying that the freshman bill is 
constitutional, does not push that extra limit, infringe upon our 
constitutional liberties.
  If we want something that will pass this House and the Senate, be 
signed by the President, and be upheld by the United States Supreme 
Court, then it

[[Page H5963]]

is the freshman bill. That is the first point that he makes.
  The second point that he makes that is unique about the freshman bill 
is that it significantly bans soft money, as the Shays-Meehan bill also 
does. But the freshman bill bans the soft money to the Federal parties. 
He points out that the soft money loophole, whereas perhaps well-
intentioned at the beginning, over the years has been abused. It has 
been. That is the greatest abuse in our system, the soft money loophole 
that allows the money that flows outside the regulated system from 
corporations, from labor unions, from wealthy individuals. That is what 
is addressed in the freshman bill very significantly.
  A third point that he makes is the political realities. The freshman 
bill passes the political realism test. We are going to have to avoid 
the extremes. We do that, whether we are talking about free TV or 
whether you are talking about public financing. The freshman bill is 
realistic reform that can pass this body in a bipartisan fashion.
  The fourth point that he makes that is significant is that the 
freshman bill breaks the relationship between the Federal officeholder 
and the chase for soft money. I believe that is unique about the 
freshman bill, because we prohibit a Federal candidate from soliciting 
soft money for the Federal parties, but as well as any State party 
other than his own, I think for any soft money at all; breaks the link 
between the Federal candidate and the chase for soft money.
  These are four important, unique aspects about the freshman bill. It 
is good legislation that I urge my colleagues to support. First of all, 
it strengthens the individual role in our campaign system. It does that 
by preventing the individual role from being drowned in a sea of soft 
money, so it strengthens the individual; also by providing more 
information, increasing disclosure, information as to the timeliness of 
where the money is coming from. Then it stops the erosion of the value 
of the individual contribution by indexing benefits to the rate of 
inflation, indexing the contribution limits. That is what is good.
  I urge my colleagues to support the freshman bill when it comes up 
for a vote on the floor.

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