Steven Holt: “I rise in opposition to the Hutchinson substitute. The first legislative act I took when I came to Congress in January…”

“I rise in opposition to the Hutchinson substitute. The first legislative act I took when I came to Congress in January was to cosponsor the Shays-Meehan bill. I did that because I believe that there is a crisis of confidence among voters in our political process. They know it is broken. If we are ever going to restore the full trust of the American people in their Government, we must reform the campaign finance system. The trust is vital if we are ever going to meet challenges like guaranteeing Social Security, improving our schools, increasing access to health care. The public will not accept any solutions crafted here if they believe the solutions exist just for the special interests. The Shays-Meehan bill would bar soft money; it would expose deceptive ads for what they really are, campaign ads. It would require new disclosure rules. These are partial, but essential, reforms. By contrast, the Hutchinson substitute would simply redirect these funds to State political parties and allow the parties to continue to raise unlimited soft money. With double-existing hard money amounts, it is not reform; it is a step backwards. Pass the Shays-Meehan bill, not a substitute.”