May 30, 1997 - U.S. Representative Adam Smith will participate in the "Money and Politics" program sponsored by the League of Women Voters and the Harwood Group tomorrow, May 31, from 11:00-12:30 p.m. at the Federal Way Regional Library at 34200 1st Way South, Federal Way.

The "Money and Politics" program seeks to educate and involve citizens in the debate over campaign finance reform. The group of 9th district citizens has already met twice to discuss the current system and evaluate different reform ideas. The League of Women Voters, aiming for a diverse cross-section of the population, selected the participants through community organizations, such as business groups, labor unions, school boards, and PTAs. Smith will join the group for their third and final meeting. "I'm really looking forward to hearing their views on the current campaign finance system and their ideas about changing it," Smith said. 

Campaign finance reform is not a new issue to Smith. In January, he pledged to limit his own fundraising. Smith promised not to raise PAC money or out-of-state money in his first year in office, not to have administration officials or members of Congress come to the district for fundraisers, and not to hold fundraisers in Washington D.C. In a March 4 editorial, Smith said "I don't want to get sucked in to the D.C. fundraising mind-set. I believe the perception that members of Congress need to raise money from the moment they take office is wrong, and I intend to prove it."

After five months of living by his own rules, Smith says he has no second thoughts. "I see other members running off to high-priced fundraisers and constantly worrying about raising money," he said. "On the other hand, I've used my first five months to learn about the issues and listen to the people I represent. When it's campaign time, I'll campaign. But right now, I'm busy learning my job as a Congressman."

Yesterday, Smith announced he has cosponsored H.R. 1025, a bill to restrict and regulate soft money. "This bill goes after soft money, a campaign finance abuse that most everyone agrees is wrong," he said. Under current law, campaign spending can be hidden in "soft money", which is money donated to local or state political parties and unregulated by the Federal Election Commission. 

"Big spenders can then hide their contributions," explained Smith. "For example, although a PAC can only contribute $5,000 per election to a candidate, it could contribute unlimited amounts of money to a state political party to use on behalf of the candidate. Soft money violates the spirit of the law, and it should be regulated like all political contributions." H.R. 1025 would require political party contributions to comply with contribution limits, reporting requirements, and all other Federal Election Commission laws.

Smith says that while eliminating soft money is an important first step, Congress should act further to clean up campaigns. "I am also taking a serious look at the bipartisan freshman campaign finance reform bill," he said. A bipartisan coalition of freshman members of Congress will reportedly unveil their proposal by the end of June. The freshman bill will likely include a ban or limit on soft money, stricter disclosure requirements, free television time for candidates, and a possible change in contribution limits from the current $1,000 for individuals and $5,000 for PACs per election.