Christopher Shays

I just would say that I am very comfortable accepting this amendment. It is a sense of Congress. And I think it is very clear, and I agree with the comments of the gentleman, we need to clarify the law. The bottom line is that if we ban…

Under Meehan-Shays, we require disclosure by both unions and corporations. Current law requires only a very narrow disclosure by unions and corporations of money spent on internal or in-kind activities. Under current law, unions do not…

I am troubled that this amendment requires a Social Security number to register to vote. I am troubled that the State would put more requirements on voter ID. States are allowed now to have voter IDs, but there are certain requirements…

Mr. Chairman, I would say my head is spinning. The professor from California got very animated when he talked about this amendment, but he called it like it is. He loves certain aspects of this amendment, but he does know that it would…

This is one of those difficult moments in the process of bringing forth a comprehensive bill with many supporters. We tried to identify amendments as killer amendments, harmful amendments, benign or helpful amendments, and essential…

Mr. Chairman, first I wanted to say to my colleagues that this afternoon we continue the effort to restore integrity into the campaign process. The substitute proposed before the chamber, the Meehan-Shays proposal and McCain-Feingold in…

I weep that my own party does not want to lead reform. I think this is an example. This amendment here is a logical thing that should be part of the bill. I do not know why my own party did not come forward with campaign finance reform and…

The gentleman may have some concerns. I have little concerns about whether corporate or union money can be declared unconstitutional when it is a campaign ad. That has already been determined. So the issue, to be fair to the gentleman, the…

I talked about the Beck decision. The gentleman I think is clear on three things, but maybe some of my other colleagues are not. Soft money can be union dues money. We ban it, so all union dues money cannot be contributed as soft money…

The bottom line is, the gentleman needs to know it was illegal to solicit campaign funds. Soft money is not defined as a campaign fund. It is the reason why we need to change the law. I say it time and time again, and the gentleman does…

My point is that the administration and the DNC knew exactly who these people were, had known them for many, many long years, knew their contacts and I guarantee the gentleman, knew where this money came from, and walking into a Buddhist…

The bottom line to this debate is quite simple. Meehan-Shays does not in any way prevent voter guides from happening. But to assure that there was no question in this Chamber, we made sure that we added a section to make it unambiguous…

When the gentleman says shut the door, I wish the gentleman would clarify what he is saying. If it is, in fact, a campaign ad, it is true it comes under the campaign law. It means that people can raise money and advertise. They still have…

If it is not a campaign ad, there is no disclosure. You have to have it be a campaign ad in order to require disclosure.

We just need to know exactly what is in the bill, and then we can argue it. We say a voting record and voting guide exception. The term ``express advocacy'' does not include a printed communication that prevents information in an…

The Meehan-Shays bill provides for a soft money ban. It recognizes that sham issue ads. It are truly campaign ads and treats them as campaign ads. It codifies Beck and improves FEC disclosure and enforcement. The legislation provides that…

I just want to speak on behalf of the Meehan-Shays supporters, that we do support this amendment. It is a right of American citizens today.

We accept the commission bill without any restraints. It is the gentleman's bill, as it is the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Franks), the gentlewoman from New York (Mrs. Maloney), and the gentleman from Michigan (Mr. Dingell). It could…

I urge support for the Meehan-Shays substitute. We hope to pass this bill to ban soft money, to recognize the sham issue ads that truly campaign ads, to codify the 'Beck' decision to improve FEC disclosure enforcement, to deal with the…

I have not asked for my 5 minutes, but I will just say that we have strayed a bit from the amendment, and I am concerned that we have the potential for hundreds of amendments, so we maybe should try to come to a debate on certain…

I just wanted to point out, before the gentleman from Texas (Mr. DeLay) leaves, that the first bill in the Contract With America, the congressional accountability bill which he advocated and supported and took pleasure in signing, had a…

I have been in this chamber 11 years and I have seen days that are very satisfying and days that are not. I, obviously, am very proud to be a Republican Member of this Congress and am proud that in 1994 that Republicans had an opportunity…

This should be a time that I really feel great, and I do not, and I have only myself to blame. What I do not feel great about is the sense that somehow this is going to be a brutal fight and we are going to make lots of enemies in the…

The bottom line to our investigation is that we want our troops properly diagnosed, effectively treated, and fairly compensated, and to this point, we do not feel that this has happened.

What I said to this Chamber was that the campaign finance laws in 1974 were designed to cut the unlimited sums that in particular the CREEP organization of the Nixon administration raised and to stop the shakedown of businesses that took…