Bill Bennett: “I rise to note with some sadness that we are reaching a point at the end of this session where it appears we will…”

“I rise to note with some sadness that we are reaching a point at the end of this session where it appears we will adjourn without acting on any of the nominees for the Federal Election Commission. The effect of this will be to leave the Federal Election Commission with only two functioning commissioners, when the law calls for six. It is worse than that. The law insists that no action can be taken by the commission without the votes of at least four. So by having only two left, we will leave the Federal Election Commission with no capacity to function. I have a history with the Federal Election Commission which makes me sensitive to the importance of this group. When I was elected, there was an allegation made against me which I considered highly partisan. It went before the FEC and before the entire commission a vote was taken, with the three Republicans upholding the position I took and the three Democrats holding the position on the other side. Because they could not muster four votes, nothing was done. In my view, this was justice. But the thing I found difficult was the fact that the partisanship on the FEC was so heavy, there was an almost automatic 3-3 vote on everything. It makes far more sense for the commissioners to work together to recognize the merits of the case, rather than simply responding in a knee-jerk partisan fashion to the individual or group that is bringing the charge. In my case, that is what was happening.”