“We need to make this less about raising money and more about talking about the issues that matter to people in their every day lives,” Ross said. “I'm glad to stand here today in a bipartisan manner in support of campaign finance reform.  I'm asking the leadership in the House to please let us vote on this bill.”

The legislation must now be passed by the House of Representatives before it can be presented to the President to be signed into law.  The House version of the McCain-Feingold bill is sponsored by Reps. Shays and Meehan.  Ross is a cosponsor of the Shays-Meehan bill, the first piece of legislation he signed onto as a cosponsor after taking office as a member of Congress. 

At the press conference, Sen. McCain called Ross “one of the poster children for why we need campaign finance reform,” referring to the over $8 million dollars in hard and soft money spent collectively during the recent Ross-Dickey campaign. 

“There is something wrong with a system when you spend $8 million to win a congressional seat -- win or lose,” said Ross.  “That’s why, today, I am honored to join my colleagues in trying to take the first step in correcting the system.” 

"That’s why, on Wednesday, I voted for a plan to repeal the estate tax, and I am pleased that the House of Representatives passed this important measure.  This legislation, the Death Tax Elimination Act, gradually phases out the estate tax over the next ten years, beginning in the year 2002.   

"While I continue to support a responsible budget that allows us to pay down our $5.7 trillion national debt and invest in important priorities such as defense, education, and modernizing Medicare to include prescription drugs for our seniors, I believe eliminating the death tax is the kind of tax relief that we can afford and that American people want and deserve."
 

“U.S.-Canada lumber trade relations has been my top trade priority since I took office,” Congressman Ross said.  “The timber industry is vital to the economy of my district, and Canadian subsidized lumber imports are threatening to drive many of our timber producers out of business.” 

Lincoln and Ross joined the Coalition for Fair Lumber Imports today at a press conference to initiate legal action which would impose countervailing duties to offset Canada’s practice of subsidizing the production of softwood lumber and dumping it into U.S. lumber markets.  The Canadian provincial governments, which own 95 percent of Canada’s timberland provide standing trees to Canadian producers for a fee that is far below the market price for timber paid by U.S. producers.  As a result, Canada is able to export record high levels of softwood to the United States, collapsing U.S. lumber prices despite a domestic housing boom.

A five-year trade agreement with Canada on this issue ended on March 31, and Canada has refused to negotiate a long-term solution to this long-standing dispute.  Members of the Arkansas congressional delegation have written to President Bush urging the Administration to negotiate a new agreement with Canada on this issue.  Lincoln and Ross have also joined other Members of Congress in lobbying Administration officials to act on this important issue.