Editorial: No time for dawdling on campaign reforms

Friday, Jan. 15, 1999 | 11:59 a.m.

Reps. Christopher Shays, R-Conn., and Martin Meehan, D-Mass., will reintroduce their legislation with the goal of having it sent to the Senate by this spring. The bill that would have banned federal "soft money" donations and restricted issue ads was opposed by the House GOP leadership, which initially tried to prevent a vote being taken. It required a near-rebellion before a vote was allowed, resulting in easy passage in the House.

The question now is whether Hastert, who voted against the Shays-Meehan bill, will create new roadblocks. Americans are increasingly becoming cynical that they no longer have a voice in determining who wins elections. The Shays-Meehan bill would restore some sanity to the out-of-control costs of campaigns. Hopefully Hastert will be a man of his word and will drop the nasty partisanship that marked the debate over campaign finance reform during the 105th Congress, instead creating momentum for reform in both the House and Senate.

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