Mike Thompson

Well, I think if we do not do something about it, the big difference will be that people will not have to hide that activity anymore because it would be considered permissible. You might have some limitations on cash and things of that…

That was scandalous in those days. Mr. McCAIN. Now they are hit up for $50,000, and it is the order of the day, it is a lunch with the President.

I rise today as the representative of Mississippi 2nd Congressional District in support of H.R. 2912, the Medicare Venipuncture Fairness Act of 1997. This bill will delay the implementation of the Venipuncture provision in the Balanced…

There is a provision in the amended version of S. 1228 that I feel needs clarification. In setting the design parameters for the new dollar coin, the legislation makes clear that the coin should be golden in color, have a distinctive edge…

I intend to support final passage of H.R. 2203, the fiscal year 1998 energy and water development appropriations conference report, because it includes funding for a number of projects important to Tennessee, including the National…

Proponents of campaign finance reform say it is an assault on the Constitution. I say that McCain-Feingold is an assault on an incumbent's protected system that is rapidly losing faith with the American people. These claims about…

No, the soft money problem really rose its head in about 1988, but it really didn't become a major problem until this last election.

Well, I think that is a direction that we are trying to head in. I am not for trying to sit down and detail what somebody can say or not say. That is clearly unconstitutional. You can't do that. The Buckley case made a distinction between…

Yes, yes, that is absolutely true. That, therein, lies the problem. We had a system for about two decades whereby people made a deal with the Government to run for President, and that is we will take millions of dollars in public money and…

As the Senator knows, much of the soft money went for those kinds of ads. I would not be supporting a provision that I did not think would pass constitutional muster. What this bill does is basically what the Senator says. It says that you…

For about two decades we did not have a soft money problem because people abided under the rules laid down in 1974. What has happened since that time is that soft money has come into the system and now we have about $262 million in soft…

I would like to comment on Title XI of this legislation, the District of Columbia Revitalization Act. This is a major piece of legislation, and in many ways a major accomplishment, given that it was hammered out by a broad group of…

I seek to withdraw an amendment I have filed to the fiscal year 1998 Defense authorization bill because I see that pressing ahead with this amendment at this time would only delay passage of this important legislation. Before I formally…

let me first compliment the gentlewoman from California [Ms. Waters], the chairman of the Congressional Black Caucus, for this leadership in this budget effort, but this evening I rise in strong support of the Congressional Black Caucus…

I commend and agree with my colleague on the Governmental Affairs Committee, Senator Glenn, with regard to the purpose of the census and how important it is. I commend Senator Hollings and Senator Stevens for working out some language that…

Mr. President, it seems at this time of year every year we tend to go out of our way to criticize the Internal Revenue Service, but I think part of the reason for that is that sometimes it seems to take so much to get their attention. As…

It seems often when we agree with a decision, it is based on scientific evidence and when we disagree, it is based on politics. In this particular matter, the decision not to have the Tennessee site designated as a storage facility…

It does. It has already proven to be a delicate situation. We got off on a bit of a wrong foot with regard to subpoenas. I take my share of blame for that. I do not think Senator Glenn was fully aware of all of the work that went into…

Yes. I think that without any question it is important that we attempt to have joint participation in the depositions. I think that whichever side notices the deposition, there should be a certain period of time when the other side is…

As I look over the original scope that the Senator referred to that came out of the Governmental Affairs Committee, a few things jump out at me that I think clearly come within our jurisdiction, or in the scope as we now have it. Foreign…

You are asking me to be pretty specific. Again, we are talking about categories of activities and situations that depend on the facts. I will say that the prelude to the specific areas that we are talking about now, foreign contributions…

Yes. I think we need to use our best efforts to ensure that by providing reasonable notice under those circumstances, at least of all significant interviews. As you say, as these things go, there are going to be people scattered out in…

I will strive toward that end. I think that is what I should have done last time and didn't. Although it is not required, it is something I should have done in retrospect, because I think it sent a signal that I didn't mean to send. There…

I think the Senator is probably right. But let's talk about what we are really concerned about here. I think the Senator is wanting to be included in the front end of the consideration, basically. I think that is reasonable. It is not…

In response, I think that would be one of the circumstances that might lead us to ask for an extension of time. It would depend, I think, on the totality of the circumstances. We would need to feel that we really needed the additional…