Frank Pallone: “I did mention earlier this report on this task force of campaign finance reform that came out from the Citizens Research…”

“I did mention earlier this report on this task force of campaign finance reform that came out from the Citizens Research Foundation of the University of Southern California, and this is something that we could talk about and we probably can discuss more as we go on, but it is called New Realities, New Thinking. I think the one thing that it points out that I am thinking about a lot, because I think it made me rethink the whole idea of what we need for campaign finance reform, is it says that 'Campaign finance today is characterized by an expanding political arena in which significant amounts of money flow in new and constantly changing ways.' This is a quote. We have gone from a process where parties ran campaigns to an area where candidates ran their own campaigns and now we are experiencing a much more dynamic, diffuse funding system in which a broad range of political entities, political parties, individuals, PAC's, issue organizations and others spend money in campaigns that candidates neither raise nor control. The report indicates that these new realities, basically, raise serious questions about accountability, electoral competitiveness, the sources of campaign funds and resources.”