Lois Capps: “when I first came to this House in a special election 3 years ago, my first official act after being sworn in was to…”

“when I first came to this House in a special election 3 years ago, my first official act after being sworn in was to sign on to the Shays-Meehan bill. It was one of the proudest moments of my career. Today is one of the darkest days I have ever experienced in this Chamber. Mr. Speaker, this rule, passed in the dead of night, is unfair. It is undemocratic. It is a cynical parliamentary ploy aimed at stopping a straight up-or-down vote on the Shays-Meehan bill as a whole. The American people will not stand for this. They want to see democracy restored. They want us to reform a campaign finance system that is awash in unregulated soft money and dominated by special interests. Mr. Speaker, let us defeat this rule and have a fair and honest debate on the merits of the Shays-Meehan bill. By defeating the rule we can reassure all Americans that our cherished democracy is not for sale.”