McCain, Feingold discuss campaign finance reform

Feingold, left, and McCain co-sponsored the Senate's campaign finance reform legislation

The U.S. House of Representatives is scheduled this week to take up the issue of campaign finance reform. Senators John McCain of Arizona and Russ Feingold of Wisconsin co-sponsored campaign finance reform legislation that was passed by the Senate earlier this year. They spoke with CNN anchor Colleen McEdwards Monday morning.

MCEDWARDS: I just want to bring our viewers properly up to date before I put the first question to you. Your bill passed the Senate in, what, April. The bill that is coming up in the House comes up this week. The bill that's before the House is called the Shays-Meehan Bill. And it's almost identical to yours, correct, Senator Feingold?

FEINGOLD: That's right. It's almost the same bill. In fact, Congressman Shays and Congressman Meehan have gotten a similar bill through the House two times before. Our goal here is to get this bill through the House, to have the differences be very small, so hopefully the Senate can accept this good piece of legislation and send it on to President Bush for his signature.

MCEDWARDS: All right, Senator McCain, if this bill does pass the House, what, then, are the chances of you coming up with a unified bill?

MCCAIN: I think they are very good. I think the president will sign the bill -- at least, I certainly hope he will. And he has indicated that he will. But have no doubt: The big money and the special interests that would lose their influence in Washington are doing everything they can to stop it at this point, because they know that if it passes the House again that it's going to become law. And this would deprive them of their influence. And so the ferocity of the opposition has intensified.

MCEDWARDS: Well -- and, Senator McCain, there is already a problem, isn't there, with this rogue bill, this Ney bill? Several major newspapers have denounced it -- denounced it as fraudulent reform. What's wrong with it, Senator McCain?

MCCAIN: Well, primarily, it would allow all the scandals that we know of in the past -- the $50,000 coffees and the nights in the Lincoln Bedroom and the money from Mrs. Rich -- would all be allowed under this sham that they are calling an alternative to the Shays- Meehan bill. It's a joke and a sham. And it would allow millions of dollars of this so-called soft money -- the unregulated and undisclosed money -- to be in American politics. And so it's just fraudulent.

MCEDWARDS: Right. I mean, it has a $75,000 ceiling on soft money, that unregulated funds your bill would outright not allow. Senator Feingold, though, a lot of members of the Black Caucus, some Hispanic Democrats, say that they want to support this because they think that $75,000 limit is a lot more realistic than an outright ban. I mean, how would you respond to that?

FEINGOLD: Well, we have been working closely with members of the Congressional Black Caucus and the Congressional Hispanic Caucus. And I think the vast majority of both of those groups are going to support our legislation. They are not going to support sham legislation. The average person in America and the average person in their district obviously loses out when people can give a half a million or $1 million. They have very few constituents like that. I have very few constituents like that. And I think, in the end, you're going to find leaders like John Lewis and Harold Ford Jr. and others leading the charge from those caucuses to help us pass this legislation.

MCEDWARDS: Well, but how do you convince those members to not defect now?

FEINGOLD: Well, I think they are already coming around. In fact, my view is that they had some very legitimate concerns about making sure that there is election reform. They wanted to make sure this bill was fair. This does have a significant impact on the system. But based on the conversations I have had, I think they're going to be with the majority in the House and help us pass this bill.

MCEDWARDS: Senator McCain, last word to you: I know that you have already sent a letter trying to avoid any cracks appearing. And you've been criticized for that as being a bit of a bully about it. I mean, how ugly is this getting?

(LAUGHTER)

MCCAIN: I was somewhat astonished, because I wrote a letter to a lot of the congressmen that I campaigned for. And I campaigned with them dedicated to campaign finance reform. So I wrote them a letter basically saying: Remember, we campaigned on this; I'd like you to vote on it.

I get -- I get hundreds of letters from congressmen to me asking me to support various issues and legislation. So I'm a bit astonished at the allegation that this is somehow bullying. In fact, I'm just asking them to support a legislation. And I hope they will.

MCEDWARDS: Well, characterize it for me, then. I mean, how much trouble is campaign finance reform in right now, Senator McCain?

MCCAIN: Look, I think -- I think that we can pass it. I think that Congressman Meehan and Shays and many others have done a great job. But -- and they passed it twice before in the House.

But, also, I do not understand -- I do not understate the depth of the opposition. Look, those that use money to wield influence in Washington perceive this as a threat to their influence. And so they're going to do everything they can to just try to stop this bill. And so there is so much at stake that they'll be doing just about everything they can, including this sham alternative that -- it's called the Nay Bill.