Steven Holt: “There has been a steady stream of amendments today intended to kill campaign finance reform. This is the latest one, and…”

“There has been a steady stream of amendments today intended to kill campaign finance reform. This is the latest one, and I am sure voters will look at how Members vote on final passage to see if they really want this to take effect, those who say they want it to take effect immediately. I want to make sure that we do not lose perspective, as my colleagues talk about everything that is wrong with this. This is a bill that creates possibilities. This is a first and necessary step to restore a sense of the possibility of self-government to workers, to families, to college students, to farmers. When I arrived here in Washington, the first day I took the oath of office, I sat down with the gentleman from Connecticut (Mr. Shays) and the gentleman from Massachusetts (Mr. Meehan) to enlist in this effort because it was apparent it is necessary to restore trust in government. If the people of America do not have the trust in their ability to run their government, not special interests, but ordinary people, then America's gift to the world, this idea of self-government, will start to disintegrate.”