Mike Levin: “first, I commend the real leaders in this effort, Senators McCain and Feingold. They have been extraordinary in their…”

“first, I commend the real leaders in this effort, Senators McCain and Feingold. They have been extraordinary in their tenacity. We look forward to their continuing tenacity to close two egregious loopholes--the one we are closing through this bill, and the other one is the soft money loophole. I thank Senator Lieberman for his leadership in terms of the 527 loophole itself. We are about to take a step on a long journey. It is a journey to bring back some limits on campaign contributions. Those limits have been destroyed by two loopholes: The soft money loophole and the so-called 527 loophole. We are about to shed some light, pour some sunshine on the 527 loophole. And the public will respond, I believe, when they see just how egregious this loophole is. When the disclosure required by this bill becomes law--as it will--the public will respond to the unlimited contributions which are also hidden. That disclosure, I believe, will lead to the closure of this loophole. And for that, we commend the leaders in this effort. It is an ongoing struggle. It can only be said to be successful when the soft money loophole is closed, and when the 527 loophole is not just brought out into the sunshine but, hopefully, when it shrivels away and is closed because the public wants the restoration of limits on campaign contributions. They want them disclosed, but they want them limited.…”