Ellen Tauscher: “I rise as a strong advocate of campaign finance reform, a member of the Freshman Bipartisan Campaign Finance Reform…”

“I rise as a strong advocate of campaign finance reform, a member of the Freshman Bipartisan Campaign Finance Reform bill, and a supporter of the Meehan-Shays reform plan. Eighteen months ago, I joined with 11 of my colleagues to form the Bipartisan Freshman Campaign Finance Reform Task Force. Our goal was to bring the issue of campaign finance reform to the forefront of the Congressional agenda. I am pleased that we were able to achieve that goal. We conducted months of meetings, including two public forums, which effectively served as the only hearings the House of Representatives conducted on this issue. The Task Force committed to developing legislation that would represent a bipartisan effort on campaign finance reform and ultimately a first step in the process of bringing true reform to the political process. I believe that one of the greatest achievements of the freshman Task Force is that it helped build momentum for House consideration of campaign finance reform. When the leadership made it clear that it would not bring Meehan-Shays to the floor of the House for a vote, the Task Force hoped its bill would serve as a starting place for debate on campaign finance reform. Our work has proven to be more than a starting place, it is the platform on which the most comprehensive campaign finance reform legislation has been successfully built. Passage of the Meehan-Shays amendment Monday was an historic moment.”