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Hollings Comments on Federal Court's Campaign Finance Reform Decision

Date: May 2, 2003
Location: Columbia, SC
Issues: Judicial Branch

Hollings Comments on Federal Court's Campaign Finance Reform Decision

COLUMBIA, S.C. - Today, U.S. Senator Fritz Hollings issued the following statement regarding the special federal Appeals Court decision to strike down portions of the recently passed campaign finance reform laws as unconstitutional:

"This decision was not unexpected. For the last 20 years, I've advocated a one-line, constitutional amendment that says, 'the Congress is hereby empowered to regulate or control spending in federal elections.' With this, McCain-Feingold would be constitutional.

"It is ridiculous to equate money with speech as is stated the Supreme Court's decision in Buckley v. Valeo. This gives the rich freedom of speech and the poor lockjaw. Speech should never be equated with money. Without a constitutional amendment, the court's will continue to strike down Congressional legislation, and we'll never get control of the campaign finance system."

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