[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 145 (1999), Part 15]
[House]
[Page 21420]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]


[[Page 21420]]

                      A UNITED FRONT BRINGS REFORM

  (Mr. KIND asked and was given permission to address the House for 1
minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. KIND. Mr. Speaker, like the previous speaker, I too want to 
compliment the Speaker for giving us this opportunity to debate what I 
feel is the most important issue that we are going to bring up in this 
session of Congress, and that is the debate and the votes on meaningful 
campaign finance reform in order to return some credibility to our 
political process.
  When I was first elected in 1996, the shortcomings of our current 
system became obvious to me. The tidal wave of money washing around 
during an election does not elevate political discord and contribute to 
the debate of ideas. It simply drowns out the voices of those who 
cannot afford to buy into the process. The big soft money contributions 
contribute to the perception that special interests have too much 
influence in the political process. And that perception is correct.
  So here we are once again, attempting to right the wrongs of our 
current system. Drawing from the lessons from the previous session of 
Congress, the best chance we have for reform is represented by the 
Shays-Meehan bill. With a united front in the House, we can send a 
clear message to the Senate today that the time for reform is now.
  The citizens of western Wisconsin have told me that our democracy 
belongs to the people, not to the large money special interests. They 
do not expect us to take no for an answer on this important issue of 
reforming the political process. I encourage my colleagues to support 
Shays-Meehan today and to oppose the ``poison-pill'' amendments and 
substitutes.

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