Ron Kind

Mr. KIND

Mr. KIND. Mr. Chairman, where I come from, and perhaps this may not be true in my colleagues' congressional districts, but the average person in western Wisconsin believes that under the current finance system, even though it is legal for a wealthy individual or group to contribute a million dollars to either political party, that is too much money. That is ridiculous. It is unbelievable that this democracy of our size allows that to happen. That is too much money.

Mr. KIND. Mr. Chairman, will the gentleman yield?

Mr. KIND. Mr. Chairman, let me show the trend. This gives a better idea of what too much money means to the average American throughout the countryside: When we start with soft money contributions of $45 million and $86 million and suddenly it explodes to $262 million.

Mr. KIND. Mr. Chairman, will the gentleman yield?

Mr. KIND. Mr. Chairman, part of the issue advocacy component of these finance reform bills is merely asking these groups who are behind the ads to identify who they are so the American people know who is financing this and perhaps will have a better understanding of what the political motivation might be. Neither one of these bills would prohibit issue advocacy ads.

Mr. KIND. Mr. Chairman, reclaiming my time, if the gentleman is claiming that soft money is not filtering back into the States and being used in issue advocacy ads, he has not taken a close look at our campaign system in our country today. I can cite countless examples of how that is happening. The original intent of soft money contributions has been perverted beyond recognition today. That is a strong argument of why these finance reform bills are necessary today.

Mr. KIND. Mr. Chairman, reclaiming my time, no, it is contributed to the party. But we all know standing in this body, too, we all know standing in this body as well the soft money which was originally set up for getting out the vote, and that is now being diverted for independent expenditures and issue advocacy ads.

Mr. KIND. I yield to the gentleman from Kentucky.

Mr. KIND. The point, Mr. Chairman, is that understanding constitutional case law right now in the court's eyes, in the court's holding, is a quid pro quo relationship constitutes corruption, and a quid pro quo relationship is defined as a relationship where money is exchanged for preferential treatment. Perhaps there are coincidences that are beyond belief out there to take a look at legislation that is being passed out here that would certainly fit under any constitutional definition and would give us legal standing to ban soft money, as these bills do.

Mr. KIND

Mr. KIND. Mr. Speaker, I rise today as a proud new parent of a baby boy born to Tawni and myself a week ago last Wednesday. Tawni and Matthew are doing very well at home right now. Matthew's older brother Johnny is also recovering from all the excitement. I could not think of a better birthday present to give to Matthew and the other children around this country, as we resume debate this week on campaign finance reform, that this United States Congress enacts meaningful campaign finance reform, reform that starts to get the big money and the influence of money out of this political process so that children like Matthew across the country, who want to grow up and serve in public service, do not have to be either independently wealthy or have to go out and raise a million dollars for the campaign. That, I think, would be a tremendous gift that we can give to the children in this country. Matthew, happy birthday. I look forward to a very long and happy life as your and Johnny's father.

Mr. KIND

Mr. KIND. Mr. Speaker, tomorrow should be the day. This is the day that supporters of campaign finance reform have been promised for over a year. Tomorrow the House of Representatives will begin debate and a vote on campaign finance reform. I applaud the leadership for finally allowing a discussion of this important issue. As we begin debate tomorrow we will have eleven substitute amendments made in order. Each of those amendments offers a wide variety of ideas on how we shape our campaign finance system. I am encouraged by the diversity of proposals we will consider. The process will allow the public to see who supports campaign finance reform and who does not. Ultimately this debate comes down to the question; Do you believe that there is too much money in the political process? Those members of Congress who support big money will oppose campaign finance reform, and support those bills that claim to be reform but are not. My constituents have told me repeatedly that they are tired of the amount of money being spent on campaigns and they want Congress to do something to fix the system. Tomorrow I will take a stand in support of campaign finance reform, I hope my colleagues on both sides of the aisle will join me.

Mr. KIND

Mr. KIND. Madam Chairman, I am a proud member of the freshman bipartisan task force on finance reform. If we are truly interested in passing finance reform that is going to pass and withstand constitutional challenges, the freshman bill is the bill to support. But the opponents of reform would have us believe that large money contributions are essential to freedom, liberty and free speech in this country. I do not know any rational person who believes the ability of a wealthy individual or organization to contribute hundreds of thousands of dollars, just as my friend the gentleman from Arkansas (Mr. Snyder) so aptly demonstrated, is essential to freedom and liberty in this country. But that is exactly what is going on right now, and it is perfectly legal. The freshman bill prohibits soft money contributions, and it will limit the corruption and the appearance of corruption resulting from those large contributions. We can prohibit the soft money contributions under current constitutional case law. So our soft money ban withstands any constitutional challenge, and, yes, it does uphold liberty and free speech in this country. I urge my colleagues, if they are interested in true finance reform that upholds the tenets of our Constitution in this country, to support the freshman bill.

Mr. KIND

Mr. KIND. Mr. Speaker, tomorrow we are going to start a debate about the biggest issue confronting this United States Congress, and that is campaign finance reform. There has been a lot of allegations about technology transfer to China in recent days and a lot of attention given to it, as it should. But the Speaker indicates that this is a national security issue and not a campaign finance reform issue. How wrong he is. This has everything to do with campaign finance reform. We have been promised over and over again by the leadership in this House to have an open and fair and honest debate on campaign finance reform. The American people get this. They understand there is too much money in the political system and too much influence of money in the political system. This body, in the coming days, will have the ability to start cleaning up the process and restoring some integrity to this democracy of ours. And I hope the American people hold us individuals accountable on where we stand on this. Do we stand for reform or do we stand for big money? I hope it is for reform.

Mr. KIND

Mr. KIND. Mr. Speaker, this could finally be the week. After a year and a half of work by members of Congress, reform groups and the general public the pressure to schedule a vote on campaign finance reform may have succeeded. This week, if the leadership keeps it's word, we will begin consideration of campaign finance reform. This debate is long overdue. I have been delivering a daily statement in the House of Representatives calling for a vote. Enough has already been said about the abuses of the system or the way that money has distorted our democratic process. It should be clear by now that the public is frustrated with the system and they want change. Now is the time to bring some control to the out of control money race that dominates our elections. I will not stop my work until the leadership finally allows a vote on campaign finance reform on the floor of the House. We have seen promises broken in the past, but we will not let the leadership break their promise this time. The people are demanding reform and it is time for us to take action.

Mr. KIND

Mr. KIND. Mr. Speaker, today was to be the day that the House of Representatives was to debate campaign finance reform, but we are not. The leadership of the House has broken another promise to the people of this nation. It is time to allow a vote on this important issue. In an election this last Tuesday in Nebraska the voters rejected the candidate who run a negative campaign, in support of the candidate who ran a positive issue oriented campaign. Hopefully the voters around the nation will reject these negative campaigns in favor of honest open discussion of the issues. We can help the process by reforming our campaign finance system. That won't happen if we are never allowed a vote on the floor of the House. I hope that next week the leadership finally keeps it's word and allows a vote on campaign finance reform. The people of this nation are hungry for clean campaigns and clean elections and it is our responsibility to pass campaign finance reform now.

Mr. KIND

Mr. KIND. Mr. Speaker, today is May 13. The last time the leadership of the House promised a vote on campaign finance reform they guaranteed a vote before May 15. That leaves one more legislative day left to consider this important issue. Unfortunately it appears that this date will pass without a debate and vote on campaign finance reform. It is one more broken promise by the leadership of the House on this issue. We have now heard that debate may begin next week and a vote will come the first week in June. I will believe it when I see it. It is painfully clear that the leadership will do anything in their power to kill finance reform. The leadership should not, however, believe that this issue will go away. Tremendous momentum is building across this country in favor of campaign finance reform. I for one will use the extra time between now and June to let the public know who is behind the continued delay in allowing a vote on campaign finance reform. It will not be me or other members of Congress who will keep the pressure on the leadership to allow a vote, it will ultimately be the public. I hope that the leadership of this House will listen to the demands of the citizens of this nation and allow a vote on campaign finance reform.

Mr. KIND

Mr. KIND. Mr. Speaker, I read with interest an article in today's Los Angeles Times about media coverage of the U.S. Senate primary in California. In the race to win the Republican nomination for the U.S. Senate the news media has provided almost no coverage to the two major candidates. One news station executive said ``I can't afford to have a reporter spend two hours for a story that is low-impact, low-merit.'' It appears that our democratic process has lost out in the ratings game to sex, violence and scandal. This lack of ``earned media'' coverage has forced candidates to rely solely on paid media advertisements to get out their message. Of course this development is one more benefit for the candidate who has the most money from personal wealth or from special interest contributions. This is yet one more example of the need to reform our campaign finance system. Money and paid media have come to dominate political campaigns more than ever before. Yet, the Republican leadership has continued to delay a debate on campaign finance reform. It is time to allow a vote on campaign finance reform in the House of Representatives. The people of this country are tired of waiting.

Mr. KIND

Mr. KIND. Mr. Speaker, I thank the minority whip for yielding to me. I, too, have a question with regard to the schedule as relates to campaign finance reform. I am one of the freshman Members that participated in the bipartisan task force for the better part of a year and a half now, and it is going to be our base bill that is brought up eventually. But we are hearing these rumors as well that the guarantee, the promise that was made just a couple of short weeks ago, may be backed off from recently. We have the gentleman from Maine (Mr. Allen), who is one of the co- chairs of the bipartisan task force in attendance as well, and we were just wondering, because promises have been made in the past, agreements have been reached in regards to having a fair, open, and honest debate on campaign finance reform on this floor, handshakes have been given, and we are wondering whether or not this agreement that was reached just a couple of weeks ago is just another empty handshake in regards to one of the more important issues that we should be dealing with and debating honestly and fairly on the floor of the House of Representatives. I am wondering if my friend from across the aisle has some information that can clarify some of the concerns that we have right now based on the rumors that we are hearing that this finance reform bill may not come up this month and might possibly come up during the month of June. We would like to have some information so that we have a way of preparing for this very important debate, a debate that I think that the people across this country desperately want this institution to have.

Mr. KIND. If the gentleman will continue to yield, I think the form and the timing of this important piece of legislation is very important. The feedback I am getting back home in western Wisconsin, in my district, are the people are engaged in this issue. They want us to take action on it. I think the indication of that occurred during the Easter recess, when all the Members went back to their home districts and got feedback from their constituents. And that is why there was a rush to sign the discharge petition in order to get a fair and honest debate on bipartisan campaign finance reform to the House floor. It is very evident that the American people want us to take action on it. They want to be engaged in this, and I think they deserve some answers as far as the timing and the form of this legislation as well. So if they want to weigh in on the issue, if they want to personally contact their representatives and let them know how they feel on the issue of getting the big money and the influence of money out of our political system, they will have that opportunity. Thus far, we are hearing nothing from the majority leadership who is in control of the schedule here. They are not communicating with the freshman group that has worked long and hard on this important piece of legislation. And I just hope that we will get included in this as soon as possible so that we have some clarification on where we are going with this legislation.

Mr. KIND. Speaking again as a member of the freshman task force that has been working on this issue, I can certainly state for the record that we have not been party to any negotiations as far as a schedule, as far as the form in which the legislation will be brought up. It is my understanding that the gentleman from Maine (Mr. Allen), who is one of the cochairs of our task force, has not been privy to any discussions with the majority leadership on this important issue as well. So if negotiations are ongoing, we would certainly request to be included, since it is our bill that will be the base bill when this eventually does get taken up.

Mr. KIND. Mr. Speaker, will the gentleman yield?

Mr. KIND. Mr. Speaker, will the gentleman yield?

Mr. KIND

Mr. KIND. Mr. Speaker, I am dismayed to learn that the House of Representatives will once again delay a vote on campaign finance reform. We were promised a vote before May 15th, but now it appears that the leadership of the House has broken their promise again. Mr. Speaker, there has been a great deal of attention paid recently to the internal debate over the campaign finance investigations in the House. This debate has diverted attention away from the real issue, fixing the abuses in the system that are currently legal. I fear that perhaps that is the goal of the Republican leadership in Congress. By continuing to spend taxpayer dollars on Congressional hearings and keeping the attention on abuses that occurred in the past the leadership feels it will not need to fix the system for future elections. I will not let that happen. The people of this country have spoken loud and clear, they want campaign finance reform. If you doubt the will of the public just look at all the Republican members who returned from the Easter recess willing to challenge the leadership and sign the campaign finance discharge petition. At that time the leadership gave their word that they would allow an open and honest vote on campaign finance reform. I hope that the leadership keeps its word and allows a vote next week.

Mr. KIND

Mr. KIND. Mr. Speaker, here we go again. The Republican leadership of the of the House of Representatives have repeatedly broken their promise to the people of this country about campaign finance reform. First the leadership refused to allow any vote on campaign finance to come to the floor. Next they brought forward a series of sham bills that, through the use of parliamentary tricks were destined to fail. Then, under pressure from a discharge petition, they finally relented and agreed to allow a vote before May 15. Now we hear that the leadership is going to delay a vote on campaign reform until mid June. How many more times will the Republican leadership break their word to the public? I am outraged by the leadership's continued effort to stall on this crucial issue and I rise today to demand that we vote on campaign finance reform next week. This issue has been debated extensively, there is an excellent bill, H.R. 2183, which is ready to be voted on, and any further delay is unnecessary. It is time for the Republican leadership to finally keep their word and allow a vote on campaign finance reform. The people of my district will not accept ``no'' for an answer.

Mr. KIND

Mr. KIND. Mr. Speaker, the partisan rhetoric coming out of the House of Representatives has reached new heights. An overwhelming amount of time, money and energy is being spent by both sides of the aisle on the investigation campaign finance abuses during the 1996 elections. Recent actions by members of the House Government Reform and Oversight Committee has created more cynicism among the public over our ability to do anything about this issue, other than score political points. It is time, Mr. Speaker, to direct attention to fixing the obvious problems in the current system. The Freshman members of the 105th Congress have made campaign finance reform a top priority for this Congress. Unlike previous classes of Congress, my colleague and I have committed ourselves to working cooperatively to make changes in the system. We have put aside our differences and drafted a bill, H.R. 2183, which enjoys bipartisan support and will address the most obvious abuses in our current campaign finance laws. Mr. Speaker, it is time for the House of Representatives to follow the lead of the newest members of this body. It is time to put aside the partisan differences and support a campaign finance bill which will begin to take the influence of big money out of the political system, H.R. 2183. The people of my district will not accept ``no'' for an answer.