Maxwell Frost: “Mr. Speaker, tomorrow we will consider one of the most important pieces of legislation before the Nation today, the…”

“Mr. Speaker, tomorrow we will consider one of the most important pieces of legislation before the Nation today, the urgent need to overhaul our failed campaign finance system. Last summer we attempted to close many of the loopholes that allowed unregulated and unlimited soft money to poison our electoral system. This is a system that allowed the wealthiest individuals and the biggest corporations to seek unchecked influence. We proposed ending the phony negative advertising that masqueraded as voter education, but are actually campaign commercials in all but name. We were ready to take these substantial steps toward cleaning up the system. I wish the Republican leadership had chosen not to become the enemies of reform and change. They have thrown up every procedural roadblock. They cannot imagine a world without such special interest money. They were successful in this intransigence before Enron. Now the winds of change blow strong, and now a majority of this body say, no more. That is why a bipartisan coalition of Members has forced this bill to the floor with a discharge petition over the objections of the Republican leadership. That we were forced to resort to such a rare parliamentary maneuver speaks volumes about the new urgency in the country.”