OFFICIALS LEGISLATION INTEREST GROUPS PUBLIC STATEMENTS COMMITTEES VETOES

Online Freedom of Speech Act

Date: Nov. 2, 2005
Location: Washington, DC
Issues: Campaign Finance


ONLINE FREEDOM OF SPEECH ACT -- (House of Representatives - November 02, 2005)

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Mr. CASTLE. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding me time.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in strong opposition to H.R. 1606, the Online Freedom of Information Act. This controversial bill purports to protect the freedom of speech of Internet bloggers but instead creates a major Internet loophole for soft money in our Federal campaign finance laws. These are exactly the soft money expenditures the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act of 1992, BCRA, sought to prohibit.

Internet advertising should be no exception and ought to conform to the same rules as those governing other media. H.R. 1606 is the wrong way to address the issue of bloggers and will only lead to new corrupting soft money scandals and campaigns. The Internet has increasingly and rightly been used as a powerful political tool in recent elections, but it is negligent that we would permit it to be a safe haven from our campaign finance laws.

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Under H.R. 1606, House members and other federal candidates would be permitted to control the spending of soft money--provided by corporations, labor unions and wealthy individuals--to buy Internet advertisements to support their campaigns. State political parties would also be allowed to spend soft money on Internet advertising to attack and promote federal candidates. And, these contributions would never be disclosed in campaign finance records.

If the Congress is really concerned with protecting Internet bloggers, I urge consideration of legislation introduced yesterday by my colleagues Representatives SHAYS and MEEHAN, which reaffirms that bloggers communicating on their websites are not covered by campaign finance laws without allowing Members of Congress and other federal candidates to use corrupting soft money to support their campaigns.

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I urge my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to vote no on the Online Freedom of Speech Act.

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