Ron Kind: “like the previous speaker, I too want to compliment the Speaker for giving us this opportunity to debate what I feel is…”

“like the previous speaker, I too want to compliment the Speaker for giving us this opportunity to debate what I feel is the most important issue that we are going to bring up in this session of Congress, and that is the debate and the votes on meaningful campaign finance reform in order to return some credibility to our political process. When I was first elected in 1996, the shortcomings of our current system became obvious to me. The tidal wave of money washing around during an election does not elevate political discord and contribute to the debate of ideas. It simply drowns out the voices of those who cannot afford to buy into the process. The big soft money contributions contribute to the perception that special interests have too much influence in the political process. And that perception is correct. So here we are once again, attempting to right the wrongs of our current system. Drawing from the lessons from the previous session of Congress, the best chance we have for reform is represented by the Shays-Meehan bill. With a united front in the House, we can send a clear message to the Senate today that the time for reform is now. The citizens of western Wisconsin have told me that our democracy belongs to the people, not to the large money special interests. They do not expect us to take no for an answer on this important issue of reforming the political process.”