03.20.02

Statement of Sen. Maria Cantwell (as prepared) on Campaign Finance Reform

Mr. President, I campaigned on the issue of transforming our election process and said repeatedly I would make it a top priority in the Senate. It was a tremendous experience last year to participate in the debate on this legislation and assist Senators McCain and Feingold with the passage of this legislation from the Senate the first time. It took an extra year to get this bill through the House and send it to the President, but my wait has been nothing like that of the wait of the Senators from Arizona and Wisconsin who have endured repeated efforts through the years. I want to give them my heartiest congratulations for an extraordinary accomplishment that is truly in the public's interest.

Campaign finance is at the heart of every issue we deal with in Congress. From energy, to health care, to gun control, to bankruptcy, political interest groups that use money to make their agenda heard all too often are larger than the public's interest in framing the debate. This legislation will move the debate closer to the public.

This bill is about slowing the ad war. It is about calling sham issue ads what they really are. It is about slowing political advertising and making sure the flow of negative ads by outside interest groups does not continue to permeate the airwaves. Ninety-eight million dollars worth of these ads ran in the 2000 election by narrowly focused special interest groups based out of Washington, DC. This legislation will change that and again focus these debates more on the public agenda. This bill also stops the unlimited flow of corporate contributions, or soft money, that contributed to the volume of ad wars in the 2000 election.

This bill forces all of us -- candidates, parties, and groups that seek to influence the outcome of elections -- to play by the same rules and raise and spend money in lower amounts.

This is a banner day for Congress. This bill is a huge step forward in the right direction. There is much more work that needs to be done in reforming our political system. I am glad this day has finally come, and I urge my colleagues to support this very important legislation that has endured because of the hard work of two Senators.