Bill Nelson: “I rise today to express my belief that the campaign-finance reform legislation we have before us addresses one of the…”

“I rise today to express my belief that the campaign-finance reform legislation we have before us addresses one of the most important issues facing America today. The influence of special interests and the enormous amount of money required to effectively run a modern political campaign have created a rift between the Congress and the American people. The fact is our political system today is dominated by huge contributions to the national parties of 'soft money.' Sometimes, these donations circumvent the parties and flow through other avenues that lack public disclosure under the guise of issue advertisements. These large donations and suspect advertisements have cast a cloud of doubt over the entire political process. And this doubt has caused many Americans to lose faith in the system. Is the McCain-Feingold bill the answer? It's not the total answer, but it's a step in the right direction. What we need to do is take our best hold and step forward and reform the law, right now. Banning 'soft money' from the system will go a long way toward removing the appearance of corruption that plagues the system today; and, the legislation's new disclosure requirements will add much-needed sunshine to the process. Candidates, and the American people have a right to know the identities of the groups and people behind the so-called issue ads that increasingly dominate the airways during campaign time.”