Chris Dodd: “Before I begin, I commend the distinguished Democratic leader, the minority leader, for his very eloquent statement and…”

“Before I begin, I commend the distinguished Democratic leader, the minority leader, for his very eloquent statement and comments, particularly in regard to the need for this body to take up the issue of campaign finance reform. I could not agree more. We have had a series of hearings at the Rules Committee on the campaign finance system. We have heard from all sides, but we heard a little more from one side than another. I tried to arrange for our good friends, Senator Feingold and Senator McCain, to testify. I talked to my colleague from Wisconsin about this so we could hear about the McCain-Feingold bill. I hope our colleagues and others heard the remarks. This is a very important issue. Nothing is more fundamental than trying to get a handle on this process that has gone wild. It is absolutely out of control, and it is getting worse by the day. While there is obviously a great need to deal with other issues, nothing is more fundamental than how people get here, where their attention is spent, their time and effort, how it is allocated. Until we change the system, in my view, it will only get worse. I applaud my leader for his comments. I know he reflects the views of the overwhelming majority on this side of the aisle and some on the other side. More importantly, I think the Senator reflects the views of the American public. There may be differences on details, but fundamentally the American public understands this system is not working well at all.”