Herb Kohl: “I rise in favor of the Snowe amendment. First, I wish to commend the Senator from Maine for her efforts to craft a…”

“I rise in favor of the Snowe amendment. First, I wish to commend the Senator from Maine for her efforts to craft a compromise on this issue. If everyone entered this debate with her spirit of negotiation and patience, I think we would surely be able to come to a final resolution of this matter. I favor the Snowe amendment at this time because I feel it is the best compromise available to possibly pass the McCain-Feingold campaign finance reform bill. As an original cosponsor of that legislation, I favor S.25 as presented yesterday by Senator McCain. I believe the section related to independent expenditures is well-crafted, would go a long way in improving our electoral system, and meets the difficult constitutional standards for this issue. However, it is clear that the McCain-Feingold bill does not have the necessary votes to end the filibuster. By altering the section of the bill dealing with independent expenditures, we would have a compromise which has the potential of passing the Senate. I would prefer the language as crafted by Senators McCain and Feingold, but it is clear we cannot pass the bill in that form. Therefore, adding the Snowe amendment at least offers hope that campaign finance reform can be passed in this session. I also wish to add that my support for this amendment is conditional on its inclusion in a broader package of campaign finance reform. Any reform proposal must be designed to be fair and balanced.”