[Congressional Record Volume 147, Number 7 (Monday, January 22, 2001)]
[Senate]
[Page S260]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mr. HAGEL (for himself, Ms. Landrieu, Mr. Breaux, Mr. DeWine, 
        Mrs. Hutchison, Mr. Nelson of Nebraska, Mr. Smith of Oregon, 
        and Mr. Thomas):
  S. 22. A bill to amend the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 to 
provide meaningful campaign finance reform through requiring better 
reporting, decreasing the role of soft money, and increasing individual 
contribution limits, and for other purposes; to the Committee on Rules 
and Administration.


          open and accountable campaign financing act of 2001

  Mr. HAGEL. Mr. President, today, I join several of my colleagues, 
including the Presiding Officer, in introducing the Open and 
Accountable Campaign Financing Act of 2001, S. 22. I am pleased to be 
joined by not only the Presiding Officer, my new colleague from 
Nebraska, but also by Senators Landrieu, Breaux, DeWine, Hutchison, 
Smith of New Hampshire, and Thomas, in introducing this legislation 
today.
  I also want to acknowledge the two Senators who have led the fight on 
campaign finance reform over the years--John McCain and Russ Feingold. 
Their commitment to this issue and leadership has elevated the debate 
on this very important part of our democratic system. They deserve 
recognition and they deserve credit.
  Mr. President, S. 22 has three primary components, as you know. 
First, it expands and codifies disclosure for candidates, political 
parties and all organizations and individuals who participate in the 
political process.
  Second, it caps and regulates soft money donations to the National 
political parties.
  Third, it increases hard money contribution limits and then indexes 
these limits to inflation for future years.
  Our Federal campaign finance system is broken. As all of us know, in 
politics, as in life, perception is an important dynamic of reality. 
The American people's perception of the integrity of our political 
system is directly connected to their confidence in the system. 
Americans see a political system controlled by special interests and 
those able to pump in millions of unaccountable dollars.
  As our citizens become demoralized and detached because they feel 
they are powerless, they lower their expectations and standards for 
government and our officeholders. As a result, the American people are 
losing confidence in our system. They are losing trust in their elected 
officials. We need to fix the system.
  The Senate will engage in an open, honest and wide-ranging debate on 
campaign finance reform this year, as it should be.
  The debate must be thoughtful, factual and deliberate. Any 
legislative action will have immense consequences for our political 
system and all who participate in it. S. 22 represents a strong, 
bipartisan foundation from which consensus can be built and real 
campaign finance reform can be established.
  Our bill is imperfect. It does not address all of the issues. It does 
not have all of the answers. But it is a genuine attempt to bring about 
real reforms, including greater disclosure and more accountability. 
Greater disclosure, I believe, is the heart of campaign finance reform. 
We should not fear an educated and informed body politic. We should 
encourage it.
  In recent years, so-called independent groups and individuals have 
played and increasingly dominant role in the political process 
launching late TV blitzes, moving poll numbers in the final weeks and 
days of a campaign, and then disappearing without the public ever 
knowing who they were and how much they spent for or against the 
candidate.
  There are several provisions in S. 22 that will increase the 
disclosure of campaign financing and election activity. But the most 
significant is the provision affecting what information is made public 
regarding political broadcast ads, especially ads referred to as issue 
advocacy ads.
  Issue advocacy adds generally refer to a Federal candidate and his or 
her positions on issues, but since the ads do not expressly advocate 
the election or defeat of a Federal candidate, they don't trigger the 
reporting and disclosure requirements of the Federal Election Campaign 
Act. Even though these ads don't expressly advocate for or against any 
candidate, many people consider the clear intent of these ads, which is 
to influence the outcome of elections.
  Our legislation addresses the problems associated with the disclosure 
of these issue ads by requiring disclosure of the relevant information 
at the broadcast stations who broadcast these ads both on radio and TV.
  Currently, broadcast stations must comply with Federal communications 
regulations requiring them to place in their public file information on 
ads run by Federal candidates and political parties. This includes a 
record of the times the spots are scheduled to air, the overall amount 
of time purchased, and at what rates, and the names of the officers of 
the organization placing the ad.

  However, presently, there is no requirement that any of this 
information be placed in the public file for political ads run by 
independent organizations or individuals. Our legislation will codify 
these regulations and expand them to cover all political broadcast ads 
without violating anyone's constitutional rights. Under this bill, the 
American public and the media will know who is buying these ads and how 
much they are spending for the ads.
  Also, let me make clear one thing this provision does not do. It does 
not require organizations to identify individual donors or provide 
membership lists. It preserves a reasonable balance between the 
public's right to know and the privacy rights of members and donors.
  In addition to increased disclosure, this legislation regulates and 
caps soft money donations. It limits individuals, independent 
organizations, corporations, and unions, to an aggregate of $60,000 per 
year in soft money contributions to the national political parties. 
These donations are disclosed at the Federal Election Commission.
  We already have constitutionally tested limits on hard money. 
Political parties have to deal with this. These contributions are 
reported from the political parties and from the candidates and their 
campaigns. We should look at placing limits on soft money contributions 
as well.
  This legislation also adjusts the hard money, or Federal 
contributions, that is are already fully disclosed to and regulated by 
the Federal Election Commission.
  Currently, an individual contribution limit is now set at $1,000. 
That limit was originally set in 1974. Our legislation would move that 
current $1,000 limit to $3,000 per candidate per election. Indexed to 
inflation, today a 1974 $1,000 contribution is worth $3,000. In future 
years, all individual limits would be indexed to inflation. This would 
have a positive effect on the system because more campaign money would 
go directly to the candidates, where there is the most disclosure and 
accountability.
  Any legislation to reform America's campaign finance system needs to 
reverse the sharply rising trend of moneys going outside the reportable 
system toward unaccountable, independent groups and individuals who do 
not report, who are not required to report or disclose. That trend has 
been more and more away from the candidates in the political parties.
  We must also ensure that any campaign finance reform genuinely 
improves the system and doesn't result in unintended consequences that 
actually make it worse. The challenge in reforming our campaign finance 
system to do so without infringing upon the constitutional rights of 
Americans to freely express themselves under the first amendment and 
the guarantees of equal protection under the law in the fifth 
amendment.
  Any effort, no matter how well-intentioned, that doesn't pass 
constitutional muster will be an effort in futility, adding further to 
the erosion of public confidence in our system. Congress has an 
opportunity this year to pass a relevant and responsible campaign 
finance reform bill that the President will sign.
  My colleagues and I will be fully engaged in this debate this year 
with the ultimate goal of making our campaign finance system more open 
and accountable--the essence of any reform.
                                 ______