|
Office
of the Press Secretary
March 15, 2001
President Bush Outlines Campaign-Reform Principles
March 15, 2001
The Honorable Trent Lott
Senate Majority Leader
S-230, The Capitol
Washington, DC 20510
 ear Senator Lott:
As the Senate prepares to consider campaign finance reform legislation,
I wanted to highlight my principles for reform. I am committed to
working with the Congress to ensure that fair and balanced campaign
reform legislation is enacted.
These principles
represent my framework for assessing campaign finance reform legislation.
I remain open to other ideas to meet shared goals.
I am hopeful that, working together, we can achieve responsible
campaign finance reforms.
Sincerely,
George W. Bush
Campaign Finance Reform
President Bush’s Reform Principles
Protect Rights
of Individuals to Participate in Democracy: President Bush believes
democracy is first and foremost about the rights of individuals
to express their views. He supports strengthening the role of individuals
in the political process by: 1) updating the limits established
more than two decades ago on individual giving to candidates and
national parties; and 2) protecting the rights of citizen groups
to engage in issue advocacy.
Maintain Strong
Political Parties: President Bush believes political parties play
an essential role in making America's democratic system operate.
He wants to maintain the strength of parties, and not to weaken
them. Any reform should help political parties more fully engage
citizens in the political process and encourage them to express
their views and to vote.
Ban Corporate
and Union Soft Money: Corporations and labor unions spend millions
of dollars every election cycle in unregulated 'soft? money to influence
federal elections. President Bush supports a ban on unregulated
corporate and union contributions of soft money to political parties.
Eliminate Involuntary
Contributions: President Bush believes no one should be forced to
support a candidate or cause against his or her will. He therefore
supports two parallel reforms: 1) legislation to prohibit corporations
from using treasury funds for political activity without the permission
of shareholders; and 2) legislation to require unions to obtain
authorization from each dues-paying worker before spending those
dues on activities unrelated to collective bargaining.
Require Full
and Prompt Disclosure: President Bush also believes that in an open
society, the best safeguard against abuse is full disclosure. He
supports full, prompt and constitutionally permissible disclosure
of contributions and expenditures designed to influence the outcome
of federal elections, so voters will have complete and timely information
on which to make informed decisions.
Promote Fair,
Balanced, Constitutional Approach: President Bush believes reform
should not favor any one party over another or incumbents over challengers.
Both corporations and unions should be prohibited from giving soft
money to political parties, and both corporations and unions should
have to obtain permission from their stockholders or dues-paying
workers before spending treasury funds or dues on politics. President
Bush supports including a non-severability provision, so if any
provision of the bill is found unconstitutional, the entire bill
is sent back to Congress for further adjustments and deliberations.
This provision will ensure fair and balanced campaign finance reform.
|
