[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 155 (2009), Part 18]
[House]
[Page 24963]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                      CLEAN MONEY, CLEAN ELECTIONS

  (Mr. ARCURI asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. ARCURI. Madam Speaker, across the country, hardworking Americans 
are tightening their belts and pinching pennies in order to provide for 
their families, as well as working to improve our economy. While the 
issues of health care and the economy dominate our attention, as they 
should right now, we should still be mindful of the importance of 
campaign finance reform.
  Campaign finance reform is a necessity if we are going to truly have 
a democracy that allows individuals to enter the political forum based 
on their skills and acumen rather than on their bank accounts.
  In the last decade, an alliance of advocacy groups, the Fair 
Elections Coalition, has been working to implement a public campaign 
finance system on the State level known as Clean Money, Clean 
Elections. Already, some form of Clean Money, Clean Elections is law in 
seven States, and over 200 State officials have won their races using 
this system.
  As a Member of Congress, we need to remember that we serve the people 
of this country based on issues, not dollars. I would ask that my 
colleagues join me as we push towards reforming the campaign finance 
system across the board.

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