[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 146 (2000), Part 8]
[House]
[Page 10737]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]



          SECTION 527 GROUPS POSE THREAT TO DEMOCRATIC PROCESS

  (Mrs. CAPPS asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute and to revise and extend her remarks.)
  Mrs. CAPPS. Mr. Speaker, I am deeply disappointed that the House 
leadership has continued to delay debate on real campaign finance 
reform.
  According to a Washington Post editorial, they claim to be seeking 
only to strengthen reform. In fact, their goal is to kill it. It turns 
out they do not like disclosure, they like the dark.
  527 groups are tax-exempt, political organizations which try to 
influence elections. They raise and spend millions of dollars to 
influence our Federal campaigns, with no disclosure whatsoever.
  These groups pose a grave threat to our democratic process. The 
American public is demanding action now.
  The gentleman from Texas (Mr. Doggett) and the gentleman from Kansas 
(Mr. Moore) have good bills that deal with a real issue at hand, 
plugging the loophole in the Tax Code that allows undisclosed funding 
and unlimited spending.
  This discharge petition is about bringing these bills to the floor 
for a vote. We need to bring a little sunshine into this system. Let us 
pass a meaning disclosure bill.

                          ____________________