Statement of Senator Dianne Feinstein
On the Passage of the Campaign Finance Reform Bill
March 20, 2002

"The passage of the McCain-Feingold legislation signifies the first significant campaign finance reforms in a generation. This important bill will staunch the millions of unregulated soft dollars that currently flow into the coffers of our political parties, and replace a modest portion of that money with contributions that are fully regulated and disclosed under the existing provisions of the Federal Election Campaign Act.

People aren't concerned about individual contributions of $1,000, and I don't think they will be concerned about donations of $2,000. No, what concerns people the most about the current system are the checks for $250,000, or $500,000, or even $1.0 million flowing into political parties.

These gigantic contributions cause people to lose faith in our government, and they must be halted. They give the appearance of corruption.

I represent California, which has more people (34 million) than 21 other States combined. I just finished my twelfth political campaign. For the fourth time in ten years, I ran statewide. Running for office in California is expensive: I have had to raise more than $55 million in those four campaigns.

I can tell you from my experiences over the years that I am committed to campaign reform, and I am heartened that we could pass H.R. 2356. Is it a perfect bill? No. Will it be subject to challenges in court? Undoubtedly. But I think it is a strong bill and I'm optimistic that it will withstand the courts' scrutiny.

Campaign reform goes to the heart of our democracy. The way we currently finance and conduct our campaigns discourages people from running for office and it disgusts voters. So they simply tune out, in larger and larger numbers. Discouragement, disgust, frustration, apathy - these feelings don't bolster our democracy, they weaken it."

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