Lincoln Chafee: “I support the Snowe-Jeffords amendment. Under the Snowe-Jeffords amendment, labor unions and corporations would be…”

“I support the Snowe-Jeffords amendment. Under the Snowe-Jeffords amendment, labor unions and corporations would be prohibited from spending soft money--what is soft money? That is the unregulated and unreported money that falls outside of current law--on advertising that mentions the name of a candidate in the 60-day period before an election. Now, labor unions and corporations would be permitted--some say, ``Oh, you are muzzling the labor unions and corporations;'' well, that is just not so--they can use their PAC dollars, so-called hard money, on electioneering ads or express advocacy. So there is no muzzling of any of these organizations. No restrictions are placed on the first amendment rights of organizations either. That is another point that has been raised here on the floor. Organizations still will be permitted to run ads that directly advocate for the election or defeat of a candidate. Electioneering ads discuss a candidate's record in relation to issues and they still will be able to run pure issue ads. Under Snowe-Jeffords, the only change is these organizations will be required to file disclosure statements. I do not see how anybody around here can be against disclosure. Disclosure statements will let the electorate know who is paying for what ads. I think that is what the public ought to know. How can that be objectionable? It is disheartening for me to hear other Senators object to disclosure.”