    [Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: William J. Clinton (1997, Book II)]
    [October 4, 1997]
    [Page 1289]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]

    [[Page 1289]]

    Remarks on Campaign Finance Reform Legislation
    October 4, 1997

        For 5 years now we have watched the bipartisan effort to reform our
    campaign finance laws die at the hands of a filibuster in the United
    States Senate. I hope this year will be different. Republican Senator
    John McCain and Democratic Senator Russ Feingold have a strong bill that
    would curb the power of special interests and increase the confidence of
    the American people in our campaign finance system.
        But this Tuesday, their opponents will try once again to kill this
    bipartisan bill, which has the support of every Democratic Senator and a
    number of Republicans. They'll try it by using a ``poison pill''
    amendment that will guarantee that reform dies one more time.
        Make no mistake, a vote for this killer amendment is a vote to block
    meaningful reform.

    Note: These remarks were recorded at 11:10 a.m. on October 4 in the Oval
    Office at the White House for later broadcast.