Russ Feingold: “I rise to reflect on the road this legislation has traveled, and thank the many Members of this body, past and present…”

“I rise to reflect on the road this legislation has traveled, and thank the many Members of this body, past and present, who have helped to bring us to this moment. It has been a long road to this moment, and we wouldn't even have begun this journey without the tenacity, dedication and the courage of my good friend from Arizona. He is a great legislator, a great leader, and, above all, a great friend. He and I have been in this fight for many years, and my respect for him has grown with every challenge we have faced together. We have gotten to this moment because of his leadership first and foremost, but also because of the leadership of so many distinguished colleagues who have given this bill their support along the way. I want to take a few moments to recognize some of the Members have contributed to this legislation. I want to thank our earliest supporters, who gave their support to the McCain-Feingold bill when it was first introduced in the 104th Congress, Senators such as John Glenn, Paul Simon, Nancy Kassebaum-Baker, and Alan Simpson, who gave us crucial bipartisan support when this effort was just getting off the ground.”