[Congressional Record Volume 145, Number 51 (Wednesday, April 14, 1999)]
[House]
[Page H1977]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




  CONGRESS MUST ACT NOW TO PASS CAMPAIGN FINANCE REFORM AND BAN SOFT 
                                 MONEY

  (Mr. ALLEN asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. ALLEN. Mr. Speaker, Congress must act now to pass campaign 
finance reform and ban soft money. We must act now in a nonelection 
year, before the strategic calculations of the election year money 
chase contaminate the debate on campaign finance reform. We must act 
now before unregulated, unaccountable soft money contributions drown 
out the people's voices in the 2000 election.
  If we thought the presidential election year of 1996 was awash in 
soft money, 2000 promises to be a deluge. We must act now to give the 
Senate sufficient time to act. Campaign finance reform is too important 
to be held hostage to the anti-reform faction's policy of delay, delay, 
delay.
  I urge Members to sign the discharge petition so we can pass the 
Shays-Meehan reform bill. If we combine last year's votes on the Shays-
Meehan and Hutchinson-Allen bills, 352 Members voted to ban soft money. 
That is 81 percent of the House.
  I urge my colleagues to sign the discharge petition, pass Shays-
Meehan, and ban soft money.

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