Robert Torricelli: “It would appear that after more than a decade of discussions about campaign finance reform, the House of Representatives…”

“It would appear that after more than a decade of discussions about campaign finance reform, the House of Representatives and the Senate may be nearer an accord on a historic change of how Federal elections are conducted in the United States. It is none too soon. Confidence in our political process has been undermined, the integrity of the Congress itself has been questioned, and the system is badly in need of repair. We are very indebted to a number of people in this institution and different institutions around the country, but in a strange irony, at a stroke before midnight, one of the elements that has been driving reform is undermining a critical component of the change. Much of what America knows about the abuses of campaign reform has come through the media. Across the Congress today, the Broadcasters Association, led by scores of lobbyists representing millions of dollars of donations of the very type and scale that we seek to control, is undermining the bill. Campaign finance reform, as passed by this Senate and the legislation pending in the House, includes a critical component for controlling and reducing the cost of television advertising.”