John Sarbanes: “Last spring, after years of debate and delay, a majority of the Senate agreed with the American public that our system…”

“Last spring, after years of debate and delay, a majority of the Senate agreed with the American public that our system of campaign financing needs repair and passed a significant campaign finance reform bill. Last month, the House of Representative passed similar campaign finance reform legislation. Now the Senate has taken up this House bill, and today this body will pass a comprehensive campaign finance reform bill. This legislation is long overdue. With every passing election cycle, money plays a greater and greater role, and we run the risk of weakening the public's trust in our democratic system of government. In short, our constituents are losing faith in our ability to serve their interests over the interests of those who contribute to our campaigns. People are growing cynical about public life. They are staying away from the polling place in increasingly large numbers, in large part due to the perception that money, rather than the popular will, drives electoral outcomes. Under these circumstances, meaningful campaign finance reform becomes necessary to protect our system of government and our way of life. While no legislation can completely solve the problems in our campaign system, this campaign finance reform bill makes real progress in the fight against corruption.”