Sam Farr

Mr. Speaker, I rise on the debate on the rule on paperwork reduction. This is a debate that determines the procedures of the House, and this is the only way in which we can deal with the law that will come after this debate, the law on…

I rise in these hallowed Halls to remind us that the debate about this money really does not affect us, but it does affect the developing countries of this world. I have lived in one of those countries. I lived in one of the poorest…

I really believe that in every community we have certainly wonderful natural beauty. I did not even mention the 27 golf courses. But I think every community in America has something historically beautiful about it, and certainly people…

Mr. Speaker, I am rising in support of this bill as an original cosponsor. I think Members have heard in the debate... The successful places, Disneyland and so on, are able to do this on their own.

The purpose of this bill, as amended, is to authorize the Federal program to finance strategies to encourage new research and development for methods and technologies for water desalinization. The bill would authorize the Secretary of the…

Everybody in this Congress wants welfare reform. That is not the debate. But not everybody in the Congress wants to shift the cost from Federal Government to local government. We usually ask ourselves as lawmakers to look before we leap. I…

I rise tonight to reflect on what was accomplished here on the floor of this House today where we finally got around to what was labeled last week as reform week but came down to essentially reform hours, about 22 hours of reform, a…

if I may, on the remainder of the time of the gentleman from New York [Mr. Rangel], I wanted to give this time because when I arrived here, I just wanted to say that one of the Members that I remembered first meeting was Hamilton Fish. The…

Mr. Chairman, I rise urging my colleagues to support the bill that is under consideration, H.R. 3505. Mr. Chairman, this is a good bill. Let me tell the Members why. This bill imposes spending limits on political candidates. It reduces the…

I ask my colleagues here on the floor to think about what is going on today, ask themselves what exactly is reform. Less money is certainly reform. More power to small contributors is certainly reform. Preventing rich people from buying…

I rise today to address this House regarding campaign reform day. That is the legislation that is going to be on the floor, and the choice today is between the two R's, between reform, which the Democratic side of the aisle is promoting…

I have authored it as a substitute to the Republican bill. The rule, as it is designed in coming before us right now, reflects what the Republicans want, which is new law with no spending limits; no limits, no caps, and no reform. But, I…

we have received 362 letters in favor of limiting campaign finance in congressional campaigns. We have received two to suggest we ought to spend more money, or are opposed to the limits. It is running over 150 to 1 in favor of exactly what…

I think that is for the voters to decide in your district, frankly. If they do not like where your money is coming from, you have to publicize it. It is a public record, and the newspapers pick it up the moment it is of public record. And…

Well, I think we have to address lobbying reform separately from campaign reform. Lobbying reform is essentially people who make their living there in Washington, whether it be on the public payroll or the private payroll, trying to…

I, like you, served in a State legislature for 13 years and was very active in campaign finance reform in the State of California. It is a very complex system. You have 6,000 local governments in the State besides the 58 counties and the…

I think that every worker has a right to know where their contribution is going. I do not think that your provision is the one that I support because it does not apply equally to corporate as well. A PAC contribution is a PAC contribution…

The difficulty with your plan is you have no limits. If you are concerned about PAC contributions influencing, whether they be labor PAC's or business PAC's or whatever the ideological framework of a PAC may be, you put no limits on them…

I appreciate your allowing us to have this colloquy. Without people talking, sometimes it is kind of lonely in this chamber. But my point is limiting raising that money in your district will put the advantage on a wealthy person versus a…

We do not even need to go back to last year. We can talk about this year. We have the same action by the Republican leadership in the Senate this year on the bill that was a counter bill to the one the gentleman has authored in this House.

I think history will show as we end this debate here that the Democratic caucus with bipartisan support in the past has passed campaign reform out of this House, in the 103d Congress, the 102d Congress, the 101st Congress, and the 100th…

I am glad the gentleman asked, because in the 103d Congress with a bipartisan vote, we passed a bill over to the Senate. It was very similar to the bill that President Bush had vetoed in 1992. That bill ironically was filibustered by none…

It may speak to how bad it has gotten in Washington. That is that the interests that you just talked about and others really would not want a campaign reform bill. You can see them out lobbying against it. What it would do, it would limit…

People come here from all over the world to watch Congress in session. It is an opportunity to see how in this country laws are made. What we are about tonight is the special order talking about what is going on in a room upstairs here…

I want to just publicly thank you for the effort that you have had in leading the bipartisan effort to bring a sensible bill to the floor for a vote, and hopefully you will get that vote. I am certainly supportive of it. If that is not…