[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 147 (2001), Part 9]
[House]
[Page 13082]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]



                  SUPPORT REAL CAMPAIGN FINANCE REFORM

  (Mrs. DAVIS of California asked and was given permission to address 
the House for 1 minute and to revise and extend her remarks.)
  Mrs. DAVIS of California. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of 
real campaign finance reform.
  Why is this so critical? Why is it so important to us today? There is 
far too much special interest money in our political democracy. Special 
interests are drowning out the voice of the American people, and they 
are sick of it.
  In my race in San Diego, my opponent and I were outspent by special 
interests by a ratio of 4 to 1. Special interests' television and 
mailers flooded the 49th district constituents. All of this soft money 
made it virtually impossible for the candidates to communicate directly 
to the voters. Voters were frustrated with a lack of honest 
information. There was so much information coming from so many 
undisclosed sources that they did not know whom to believe and what was 
coming from whom.
  Mr. Speaker, we need to make sure that voters are the center of our 
democratic election system. They deserve nothing less. So I urge this 
House to pass strong and effective campaign finance reform today, to do 
it without games, and to do it in an honest and straightforward way. 
The American public is depending upon us.

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