[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 159 (2013), Part 11]
[House]
[Pages 15414-15415]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                           MONEY AND POLITICS

  (Mr. KILDEE asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute.)
  Mr. KILDEE. Mr. Speaker, this government shutdown has clearly 
demonstrated our democracy is not working the way it was designed. 
Unfortunately, this is largely due to the oversized influence and 
obscene amount of money in politics which continue to fuel our 
distorted political process, and it could get worse.
  Today, the Supreme Court is hearing arguments in the McCutcheon case, 
the second-coming of Citizens United. This case could open the door to 
even more money flooding our political process. Money and politics have 
paralyzed Washington and have paralyzed my Republican colleagues' will 
to compromise. They would be more apt to compromise if they were not 
absolutely

[[Page 15415]]

petrified of the Koch brothers spending millions of dollars to unseat 
them.
  We cannot afford to have a system of government fueled by money that 
rewards confrontation and condemns compromise. If we don't fix this 
underlying problem, money and politics, we will continue to lurch from 
crisis to crisis, and the American people ultimately lose.

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