Kay Bailey Hutchison: “the bill that I introduce is the Campaign Finance Reform and Disclosure Act of 1997. This important legislation will…”

“the bill that I introduce is the Campaign Finance Reform and Disclosure Act of 1997. This important legislation will correct several of the abuses that we have seen take place under the present system and will demonstrate to the American people that we in Congress intend to do everything possible to bring campaign-related activities into the light of day. Moreover, this bill will not force the American taxpayer to further subsidize Federal campaigns, nor will it impose an elaborate new system of costly and burdensome campaign regulations. First, the act will require that at least 60 percent of a Senate candidate's campaign funds come from individuals within that Senator's home State. It will terminate the mass mail franking privilege for Senators during the year in which he or she is seeking election, and thereby end one of the more substantial advantages of incumbents over challengers. The bill will also make the contribution limits for political action committees equal to those in place for individuals, and will index that uniform limit to the rate of inflation. I believe PAC's serve a beneficial and necessary purpose in our system by allowing groups of individuals, whether at their place of employment, through an issue advocacy group, or elsewhere, to participate in a more direct way in the grassroots political process that is at the heart of our electoral system.”