This is it: Armageddon, as House Speaker Dennis Hastert put it. It is reckoning time for all members of the House of Representatives, time to take a stand for or against the corrupting influence of big- money campaign contributions.
Reps. Chris Shays and Marty Meehan and their supporters have steadfastly worked to put together a strong bill that bans so-called soft money -- the huge, unlimited sums that corporations, labor unions and the very wealthiest Americans use to buy access and influence in Washington.
Other brave souls, 218 of them in all, have also stepped up in a time of need and defied the powerful opponents of reform. They signed a petition that forced the House leadership to allow a fair debate and vote on campaign finance reform legislation. Do not underestimate the historic importance of this effort: It was only the second time in history that such a petition has succeeded.
Today there will be a fair debate. But not every vote will be cast for reform. Only one bill bans unlimited contributions from corporations like Enron, labor unions and multimillionaire contributors: Shays-Meehan.
Opponents of reform who prefer to keep things as they are in Washington have offered an alternative to Shays-Meehan that makes a bad system even worse. Rep. Robert Ney's bill will not stop the flood of soft money and does not intend to. It dramatically increases the limits on regulated campaign contributions -- "hard money" -- to parties, political committees and candidates, while at the same time barely restraining the flow of soft money into the national party coffers.
But the most obvious anti-reform effect of the Ney bill is its provision authorizing state parties to receive unlimited contributions for spending on federal elections. Partially plugging one loophole in a dam and widely opening another does not stop the tidal wave of big money into political campaigns and the political influence those huge donations buy.
The Ney bill also allows misleading issue advertisements to continue at their present rate and without adequate disclosure, leaving in place yet another loophole in federal laws that will expand, as all loopholes do, beyond recognition. The Ney bill is worse than doing nothing.
President Theodore Roosevelt confronted the corruption endemic in his time when huge corporate trusts and leading financiers avoided regulation and oversight by buying off elected officials with huge campaign contributions. He recognized that the public's growing demand for reform of such practices was just and necessary to restore the integrity of our government and the health of our democracy. He knew it was necessary to outlaw corporate contributions to political campaigns.
Today the soft-money loophole that opponents of reform are so intent on preserving makes unlimited corporate contributions legal again. In the glaring light of the Enron scandal, Congress faces a historic opportunity to act courageously and unselfishly in America's best interests.
We can begin to end the exclusive relationships of power and influence between a privileged few Americans and the guardians of the public trust. The answer to Americans' call for the real reform of our campaign finance system is Shays-Meehan. A vote for some alternative or amendment is a vote to block real reform.
Congress should give President Bush his chance to emulate Teddy Roosevelt by signing legislation that will restore the spirit and the letter of the law, making every American's voice as loud as those of the special interests.
The writer, a Republican senator from Arizona, is co-author with Sen. Russell Feingold (D-Wis.) of campaign finance reform legislation that passed the Senate.
