Sam Gejdenson

we are in a process, trying to avoid a straightforward discussion of campaign finance reform. I know there are some people that believe in a commission, and commissions are not the worst things in the world, but we all get paid a salary…

what preceded this system that is bad and needs fixing was a ``cashocracy''. People came to Members of Congress and presidential candidates with bundles full of cash. I think that was a worse system. We are not perfect today, but we are…

I got this sheet from my colleague here. It is interesting. In 1974, it starts, the Democrats passed campaign finance reform. In 1979, it is a Republican filibuster. In 1988, it is a GOP filibuster. In 1991, Bush promises a veto. In 1992…

only those with enough money to buy the megaphone would get to speak. Yes, the rich would be heard. But the average person, he might be able to read about which rich person is being heard, but he could not express himself if the almighty…

that system, which you condemn in public education and all these other forums, has the highest standard of living in the world, has the biggest economy in the world, is the idol of every other economy in the world. The countries that…

So how does a candidate who does appeal to really rich people, where does he get the resources to get heard? If the rich people can own the stock in the newspapers, if they can own the TV stations, and if they can write $10 million checks…

I yield myself 6 minutes. Madam Chairman, we are here today and we are frankly surprised, some of my Democratic colleagues, because many of my Democratic colleagues said to me over and over again that this present leadership was shameless…

the debate here is how to instill confidence in the voters of this country and their elected officials. There is no place on earth where the connection between the elected and the electors is closer. But as the amounts of money rushing…

On this day I stand with Armenians worldwide in remembering the anniversary of the genocide committed against the Armenian people between 1915 and 1923. Eighty-three years ago today, representatives of the Ottoman Empire arrested Armenian…

Mr. Speaker, we need to take back the political system in a way that will give the American people confidence. We have to put limits on spending. We have to decrease the amount of money to campaigns, not increase the amount of money to…

Mr. Speaker, I am a freshman, and one of the things that we first did when we first got here, freshmen Republicans and Democrats, we tried to work together on campaign finance reform. We wanted to make a difference. Tonight what is going…

Mr. Speaker, I am sure the gentleman is earnest; but the gentleman is just factually wrong. I will tell the gentleman why. I will tell the gentleman in what way. We passed campaign finance reform as Democrats in 1971 and had to override…

It is time for a little review. We have been here going over four proposals, all authored by the Republicans. I have been in this Congress for 18 years. I have spoken to Members in this Chamber who have been here longer. I have never, ever…

there is some distance between myself and the gentleman who just completed speaking on this subject. While our interests may have differences, I certainly agree that we ought to reject the rule, and we ought to reject the bill. This is…

I think, first of all, for us to effectuate a policy, it is clear that we need to have a product that can either be signed by the President or have a congressional override. Since it is clear there will be no congressional override on this…

I think the honest answer is, however, that this activity we are involved in is not going to lead to a law. It is clear the President said he is going to veto it. It is clear that we do not have the votes to override it. So we are involved…

Mr. Speaker, we have a choice here today; and the choice is whether we are going to denigrate the Congress to a debating society to deal with some theoretical issues about the power structure between the executive and the legislative or…

Mr. Speaker, it is a small irony that I am here today as the ranking Democrat on this committee. Both my parents survived the Holocaust in Europe. My father's village was liquidated. Certainly after Pearl Harbor, my mother was lucky enough…

the year 2000 is the 100th anniversary of our submarine fleet. The Postal Service recently made what I believe was a serious error in rejecting a postal stamp. There were several options out there that would make a stamp that would have…

It was partisan, it was an attempt to create a crisis where none existed, and frankly, it is the wrong message to send to the American people. In a country that has virtually half its citizens not registered and only half of them showing…

simple equity would argue that we ought to end the Sanchez investigation and have Congress pay for the bills that we fostered upon the gentlewoman from California, hundreds of thousands of dollars in legal fees for a race she won by…

the full House meets today for only the second time in our nation's history to consider Articles of Impeachment against a sitting President

I would hope the Republicans no longer come to the floor to tell us they are for small government, because they are involved in the ultimate big government act

I can frankly only remember one other similar instance, when a Senator from Wisconsin held up a list of 120 suspects in the State Department, and somehow they were disloyal to the United States; never got any names, we never found any…

I just want to join with my colleagues, to the family, to give our concern and our love. He was a special individual on the committee. From the first day there, he brought with him an intellect that is hard to match and an understanding of…