(Washington, DC) Congresswoman Corrine Brown is leaning towards signing the campaign finance reform discharge petition. To explain the change from her earlier position, the Congresswoman made the following statement:

"Throughout this debate, I have been extremely concerned that a soft money ban could adversely affect minority communities and the poor. The main reason for my concern is that soft money was originally intended to be used for voter registration, voter education, and Get Out the Vote (GOTV). In Florida, this led to a dramatic increase in voter turnout in the last election among minority voters, even though many of their votes were not counted.

It deeply worries me to think that campaign finance reform legislation, however well intentioned, could potentially be used to suppress minority voter education in Florida and other states. Soft money funds have been used in my district and in minority communities throughout the nation as a voter education tool, and it could be extremely disadvantageous for these communities to suddenly lose access to these funds. If there is one thing we learned from the last election in Florida, it is that we need MORE money for voter education efforts, not less!

However, after speaking at length to Minority leader Gephardt on various occasions regarding campaign finance, I have decided to sign the discharge petition. Recent events have made it clear that money plays an exaggerated role in Washington today. I was appalled last month when the Republicans slammed through a bill to "stimulate" the economy, a bill which, in reality, was a payback to wealthy campaign contributors. This "stimulus package" is loaded up with millions of dollars in retroactive corporate tax cuts; accelerating income tax rates; equipment tax write offs and a two year voucher credit health care plan. Not surprisingly, meaningful health insurance and unemployment benefits are practically nonexistent. For Florida, this bill will only exacerbate the budget deficit the state already faces.

Another egregious example of the dark side of campaign contributions is the Enron debacle which has emerged in recent days. I find it preposterous that the Attorney General, as well as his chief of staff, have recused themselves from undertaking a criminal investigation of the company because of campaign contributions. It also appears that other Cabinet members, including the President, have close contacts with this company. President Bush in fact, a close friend of the company's chairman, has received a great deal of campaign contributions from Enron during his political career.

With this in mind, it seems to me that this is a perfect time to limit the excessive influence money plays in Washington."