On the recordMarch 24, 1994
I believe there should be instilled in the public, confidence in this body. If we have lunch with somebody and we want to report it, I think that is fine. I think if somebody plays golf with someone, that should be reported. That is fine. However, here we are, and we are going to impose penalties on people that have lunch with somebody or play golf with somebody, and a much greater issue, as far as influence is concerned, are the contributions that we get for our campaigns. Many people will vote for this legislation today and talk with self-righteous indignation if we vote against it, and they will go out and take a $5,000 contribution from a PAC and say that does not have as much influence as if they have lunch with somebody. That makes no sense. There is no logic to it. Madam Speaker, I think that the best way to address this problem, if we want to instill public confidence, is to have the full reportability.
Source
govinfo.gov
