David Price: “This is a sad and, indeed, depressing debate because there is such a transparent effort underway to weaken our Nation's…”

“This is a sad and, indeed, depressing debate because there is such a transparent effort underway to weaken our Nation's campaign finance laws even further by the perfectly legitimate, compelling case for sick children in our country. This represents the worst of Republican cynicism--I have just got to say it--and since this measure stands no chance of passing in the Senate, it is a fitting end to the least productive session of Congress in modern history. The passage of this bill will do nothing to increase the Federal funding of pediatric disease research. That is why it is so cynical. Simply authorizing a new program will not translate into additional funding in the current appropriations environment. If the majority were really serious, it wouldn't have passed a budget that makes adequate funding for medical research impossible or, perhaps, it would actually try to negotiate a comprehensive budget agreement that lifts sequestration once and for all from pediatric research and many other priorities. To make matters worse, this bill would make it more difficult to modernize and reinvigorate one of the most successful examples of campaign finance reform in our Nation's history--the Presidential public financing program--which has given candidates a viable alternative to private and corporate fund-raising for more than three decades.…”