(This is a joint post by Democratic Leader Pelosi and Rep. Henry Waxman on the Online Freedom of Speech Act under consideration by the House tonight.)
We want to assure the blogging community that we are fully committed to freedom of speech on the Internet and do not support any attempt to subject every day bloggers to FEC regulations or silence the rights of Americans to go online and voice their opinion. We are equally committed to eliminating the corrosive influence of soft money in our political campaigns. That is why we both voted for the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act. Unlimited and unregulated special interest dollars have no place in federal elections.
We have two issues with the
Online Freedom of Speech Act. First, in the words of our colleague Congressman Barney Frank, this bill "defends free speech by not having any." This is an issue that must be fully discussed in open debate on the House floor through a process that permits amendments to be offered and voted on. The Republican Leadership brought this bill to the floor through the suspension calendar which does not permit such an opportunity. As a result, the House is being forced to consider a complicated public policy decision without the chance to discuss it or make appropriate changes. As the Democratic Leader, Congresswoman Pelosi has a responsibility to assure that the majority does not employ parliamentary tactics that curtail debate and restrict the rights of elected representatives of the people to improve this legislation.
Secondly, there are fears that wealthy special interests could exploit the Online Freedom of Speech Act as it is written as a backdoor to bypass campaign finance laws and coordinate and finance a candidate's online campaign advertising. As long as their coordinated ads do not directly call for the election or defeat of a particular candidate, corporations and special interests will be able to spend all the money they want through this loophole.
We need reform that both fully protects free speech in the blogosphere while keeping soft money from so easily and unfairly influencing the political process. These goals are not mutually exclusive and Americans should not have to pick and choose between freedom of speech and the right to a fair and clean election process.
If this legislation is defeated tonight on the Suspension Calendar, it is not dead. It can come up under normal procedures at any time and the House can debate and amend it to ensure that it does not undermine political reform.