Providing for Consideration of H.R. 5175, Democracy is Strengthened by Casting Light on Spending in Elections Act

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Mr. COLE. Madam Speaker, I rise today in opposition to this incredibly restrictive rule and to the underlying legislation.

The lack of democracy and openness that exists in this House is evident when the House Rules Committee self-executes a 45-page manager's amendment to a 92-page bill and then makes in order only 5 of the other 36 submitted amendments. By the way, only one of those amendments made in order was offered by a Republican.

This, of course, has all been done in the name of a bill cynically titled Democracy is Strengthened by Casting Light on Spending in Elections Act. I've got a suggestion to my friends: How about strengthening democracy by actually allowing robust debate and unlimited amendments? That would actually help restore comity and bipartisanship to this polarized House.

With that said, Madam Speaker, I would like to also address the underlying legislation.

In this bill, the majority is engaged in a self-serving, hypocritical political exercise. The underlying legislation is a response to a 5-4 Supreme Court decision in the Citizens United vs. Federal Election Commission case. Good people can disagree about that case and about its ramifications. However, when the majority party decides to reshape the political playing field with a bill written by its political tacticians and introduced by the chairman of its own campaign committee, we have reached a new low.

The clear aim of this legislation is to tilt the political playing field in favor of the Democratic Party. Simply put, this bill facilitates the involvement and political activities of groups supportive of the Democratic Party while limiting the political activities of those who may not support the Democratic agenda. A clear example of this is where the bill applies onerous restrictions on corporations which may wish to involve themselves in political activity while the bill carves out large exceptions for unions, which traditionally support the Democratic agenda.

Madam Speaker, this bill is a prescription for chicanery in our elections, and it will fundamentally restrict our First Amendment rights. Therefore, I urge Members to oppose this rule and the underlying legislation. Limiting the freedom of speech in pursuit of partisan political advantage is fundamentally wrong.

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