JOHN LINDER: “Mr. Speaker, take a look at the amount of money that tobacco companies have provided to the Republican committees in…”

“Mr. Speaker, take a look at the amount of money that tobacco companies have provided to the Republican committees in 1996: $4.5 million. Now, if they want to tell us that they do not hold up legislation because of the money they take from the tobacco lobby, just listen to the words of one of their own. Linda Smith from Washington State, Wall Street Journal, 2 days ago, she says that she discovered that it was commonplace for the GOP majority to hold up action on bills while milking interested contributors for more campaign contributions. I said, we do that? Is that not extortion? Let me just say, the America public is very clear on what our Republican colleagues are doing. They have put up this rule which has 258, and it may be 270 according to the gentleman from Colorado, amendments that do not have anything to do and are nongermane to the issue of campaign finance reform. Americans are not fooled. The New York Times calls their tactics 'death by amendment,' a filibuster in disguise.”