[Congressional Record Volume 152, Number 34 (Thursday, March 16, 2006)]
[Senate]
[Page S2326]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mr. WYDEN (for himself and Mr. Graham):
  S. 2434. A bill to limit the amount of time Senators spend on non-
legislative activities; to the Committee on Rules and Administration.
  Mr. WYDEN. Mr. President, the Senate has been working away at a 
lobbying reform bill, which is a good start at curbing the influence of 
special interests, but that alone is not enough. Everyone knows the 
root of the problem is money. Money is the oil that runs the engine of 
a viable campaign for office.
  Every single one of my colleagues and I are in a perpetual campaign. 
Whether you were born a multi-millionaire or come from more humble 
origins, you are chasing money. Senators are elected or reelected on a 
Tuesday, sleep in on Wednesday and by Thursday they are back on the 
phone, dialing supporters for contributions to fuel the next campaign.
  I do not believe Senators should have to operate this way. I believe 
the people send Senators to the Capitol to resolve their and the 
Nation's problems; I don't believe they send us to the United States 
Senate to spend all our time calling donors for support.
  Senators are here to do the people's business, and that's why Senator 
Graham and I are introducing the first bipartisan bill that would let 
Senators focus on what the voters of our States sent us here to do. 
This would be the first serious step toward shutting the door on the 6-
year stockpiling of campaign contributions. Our bill would amend the 
Senate rules to prohibit incumbent Senators from raising money until 18 
months prior to their re-election. An exception to this ban would be 
triggered if an opposing candidate or group targeted a Senator with 
more than $100,000 in paid advertisements. Such a targeted campaign 
would free an incumbent Senator from the prohibition on soliciting 
contributions. Likewise, the ban would not apply to contributions to 
retire campaign debt.
  I have long admired the system used in many European countries for 
keeping campaigns focused on a short but intense period. That would 
require an amendment to the Constitution, an avenue that time and again 
has proved too difficult to navigate. Short of a Constitutional 
amendment I believe the new approach Senator Graham and I are offering 
could prove viable.
  Campaign finance reform is much like nuclear disarmament: everyone is 
for it but few are willing to take the first step unilaterally. I 
believe that those of us who are already here in the Senate bear the 
responsibility to take that first step.
  Our proposal aims not just to treat the symptoms of scandal and 
corruption; it aims to cure the overall disease by going after the 
endless race for money in politics. Our bipartisan approach enjoys the 
support of a number of groups, including Common Cause, Democracy21, US 
PIRG and Public Citizen.
  Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the text of the bill be 
printed in the Record.
  There being no objection, the text of the bill was ordered to be 
printed in the Record, as follows:

                                S. 2434

       Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of 
     the United States of America in Congress assembled,

     SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

       This Act may be cited as the ``Senate Campaign Reform Act 
     of 2006''.

     SEC. 2. LIMITATION ON SOLICITATION OR ACCEPTANCE OF 
                   CONTRIBUTIONS.

       Paragraph 1 of rule XLI of the Standing Rules of the Senate 
     is amended--
       (1) by inserting ``(a)'' after ``1.''; and
       (2) by adding at the end the following:
       ``(b)(1) A Member of the Senate, or officer or employee of 
     the Senate, shall not solicit, receive, direct, or authorize 
     the acceptance of a contribution with respect to a political 
     committee authorized by or affiliated with a Senator at any 
     time other than during the period beginning on the date that 
     is 18 months prior to the date of the next general election 
     for the office held by such Senator and ending on the date of 
     such election.
       ``(2) This subparagraph shall not apply for the period 
     beginning on the date in which a candidate opposing a Senator 
     receives contributions or makes expenditures in excess of 
     $100,000.
       ``(3)(A) This subparagraph shall not apply in any case in 
     which a Senator is targeted (by name or office) in broadcast 
     advertisements paid for by an individual or group that is not 
     affiliated with any candidate for the Senate, but only to the 
     extent that contributions do not exceed the amount paid by 
     the individual or group for such advertisements.
       ``(B) Contributions permitted by subclause (A) shall be 
     used for the sole purpose of responding to such 
     advertisements, and funds remaining at the conclusion of such 
     response shall be returned to the individual contributors 
     (based on the percentage of the total amount contributed).
       ``(C) Not later than 30 days after the date on which a 
     response is made under subclause (B), the Senator shall 
     submit for review to the Select Committee on Ethics of the 
     Senate the amount raised, copies of the advertisements in 
     question, and the dates and outlets on which the 
     advertisements were run.
       ``(4) This subparagraph shall not apply to any authorized 
     committee of a Senator who is a candidate for an office other 
     than Senator, but only if such committee is established for 
     the purpose of running for such other office and no 
     contribution accepted by the committee is used for the 
     purpose of running for the office of Senator.
       ``(5) Any term used in this subparagraph which is also used 
     in the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 (2 U.S.C. 331 et 
     seq.) shall have the meaning given such term under such 
     Act.''.
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