U.S. Senator Russ Feingold on Campaign Finance Reform From the Senate Floor   February 23, 1998 Mr. FEINGOLD. In a moment, I will yield to the senior Senator from Arizona. But before I do, let me make clear what we are tabling here today if we table the McCain-Feingold amendment. The other side would have us believe it is one narrow aspect of a bill that has to do with certain aspects of express advocacy and independent advocacy. Surely, that is part of the bill. But what they don't talk about very much is what else would be tabled. It would involve the tabling of a complete ban on soft money. It would be wiping out the opportunity for this Congress to have a ban on soft money. What that means is they are also tabling a concept that has been endorsed by over 100 former Members of Congress who signed a letter to ban soft money. It is also a denial and tabling of an effort to ban soft money that has been endorsed by people like former Presidents George Bush and Jimmy Carter and Gerald Ford. In addition, if this tabling motion prevails, you will be wiping out provisions that actually lower the provisions that require candidates to report contributions of $50 and over, not just the ones of $200 and over. It would be wiping out provisions that double the penalties for the knowing and willful violations of Federal elections law and tabling the provisions that require full electronic disclosure of campaign contribution s to the FEC. You will be wiping out provisions that require the Federal Elections Commission to make those campaign finance records available on the Internet within 24 hours. You will be wiping out provisions that would stop the practice of Members of Congress using their franking privileges, their mass mailing franking privileges in an election year. Our bill would ban that. The tabling motion would wipe out the provisions that require a candidate to clearly identify himself or herself on one of these negative ads. So the fact is this bill has many important provisions. A tabling motion denies the chance to do all of these things. What the opposition has chosen to focus on is merely a few aspects, which I think we are right about, but they completely ignore the many important items of enforcement and disclosure and the banning of soft money the McCain-Feingold bill would achieve.

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