Sam Farr: “Mr. Speaker, leadership is about getting results. This rule that we are about to vote on ensures no leadership. It…”

“Mr. Speaker, leadership is about getting results. This rule that we are about to vote on ensures no leadership. It ensures a lot of talk, but no results. Campaign finance reform is complicated because we have to reform all of the law; we have to do the whole system. It is ironic that I just heard the GOP leadership get up and say, we do not want to change the law, we just want to have a debate on a few amendments. Yet, yesterday, when my colleagues proposed to the House how we are going to deal with the complicated tax reform, their solution was to throw the whole thing out. Today, we need to overhaul the system, but we do not have to do it by addressing 258 amendments. We need to have leadership that we have seen this House have before. Let me show my colleagues what the history of this House is. In the 101st Congress, 1989 and 1990, H.R. 5400 was introduced by our colleague, Al Swift. It went through the House by a vote of 255 to 155. Fifteen Republicans voted yes. The bill was adopted in the Senate. The 102nd Congress, 1991 and 1992, H.R. 3750 by the gentleman from Connecticut (Mr. Gejdenson), voted off this floor, passed the House by 273 votes to 156 votes. That bill went on to conference and ended up going to President Bush on May 5, and he vetoed the bill. That bill did everything that all of these amendments are talking about, that all of this debate is talking about.”