Sylvester Turner: “the time has come to take the for-sale sign off the door of the United States Congress. The public's trust and…”

“the time has come to take the for-sale sign off the door of the United States Congress. The public's trust and confidence in government has been seriously eroded by a system that allows big money to have too much influence on the political process. Mr. Chairman, we currently have a broken system of campaign finance. There are two ways to give, hard money which honors the intent of the law to limit contributions and disclose the source, and the other way, soft money, which skirts the law and allows unlimited amounts to be given from undisclosed sources. No wonder most Americans no longer believe government to be of, by, and for the people; and the problem is getting worse. In the 1992 cycle there was $86 million raised in soft money, in 1996 it climbed to $262 million, and in 2000 it is estimated to be $500 million or more; and no one benefits from the corrupting influence of soft money. The donors do not like the constant pressure or the shake- down to donate soft money, the political candidates do not like to be ambushed by soft money, and most importantly, the citizens of this Nation do not like the influence of soft money.”