Russ Feingold: “I rise today on this first day of the 104th Congress to introduce legislation designed to fundamentally change the way…”

“I rise today on this first day of the 104th Congress to introduce legislation designed to fundamentally change the way we finance elections for the United States Senate. Over the last several years, there have been a host of campaign finance reform bills introduced in the Senate, different in scope, complexity and vision. Although most legislators agree that there is a dire need of campaign finance reform, we have been unable to reach agreement on the avenue that will best produce fair and competitive elections. This is regrettable. I fear that this lack of progress is in part due to the fact that many Members of Congress have lulled themselves into the belief that the public doesn't care about this issue. In fact, it seems possible that efforts to enact comprehensive campaign finance reform will be less of a priority in the 104th Congress, than it was in the 103d Congress. Many Americans, however, are appalled and outraged at the big money or bought and sold images of our campaign financing system, whether it be a $44 million U.S. Senate campaign in California or the ugly spectacle of excessive contributions timed to coincide with key votes on major issues. Given the new political landscape in the U.S. Congress and the continuing failure to reform the system, this bill is a new attempt to forge a bipartisan consensus on the issue, in the hopes that real reform will be one of the great achievements of the 104th Congress.”