I had contacted my Representative, Tom Udall (D-NM) about supporting 1606. I just received a reply wherein he tells me he voted against it, his reasons why he voted against it and the fact that he supports Shays and Meehan's HR 4194 Instead.
I found Udall's arguments against 1606 reasonably valid. I don't know if 4194 addresses the concerns that have been raised by Kos about 4900.
I've pasted the entire text of Udall's response in the extended body.
If you want to have an extended Kossack discussion on this, then please recommend this diary to keep it visible. I'm not going to post a Tipjar because this is not an original contribution and I won't take credit for it.
Thank you for contacting me regarding H.R. 1606, the
Online Freedom of Speech Act. I appreciate hearing from you on
this important issue.
As you may know, H.R. 1606 was introduced by
Representative Jeb Hensarling (TX) on April 13, 2005. This bill
would amend Federal Election Campaign law to exempt
communications over the internet from the definition of public
communication. In doing so, internet communications would not
be regulated as federal election activity under federal campaign
finance law.
I am a strong believer in free speech and in making sure
that the voices of all are heard. While I am in favor of making sure
that internet communications by individuals are protected, and are
not unnecessarily burdened by federal campaign finance law, I am
also opposed to some of the long-ranging and broad language
within H.R. 1606. This bill would allow blogs, wikis, and other
emerging online avenues of communication to be exempted from
campaign finance law. Unfortunately, it would also allow soft
money contributions by corporations, unions, wealthy individuals
and others to be used for the purchase of unlimited commercials
and online ads. To do so would further widen the gap in
campaigns between those who have large amounts of funding and
those who do not. Because of my opposition, I voted against H.R.
1606 when it came up for a vote on November 2, 2005, and it
failed to receive the necessary two-thirds vote for passage by a
final count of 225 - 182.
You may be interested to know that I am a cosponsor of
H.R. 4194, the Internet Anti-Corruption and Free Speech
Protection Act of 2005. Introduced on November 1, 2005, by
Representatives Christopher Shays (CT) and Marty Meehan (MA),
who were the principle authors of the Bipartisan Campaign Reform
Act (BCRA) of 2002, H.R. 4194 would allow the same
exemptions for individual internet communications as H.R. 1606,
but would protect the internet from the influx of unfair advantage
through special interest money. I believe that this bill does an
excellent job of capturing the goals of Rep. Hensarling's bill.
Upon introduction, H.R. 4194 was referred to the House
Administration Committee. Since that time, no further action has
occurred. Please be assured that should this or related legislation
come before the floor of the House, I will be certain to keep your
views in mind.
Thank you again for sharing your thoughts with me. Please feel
free to contact me with concerns about any federal issue. You may
visit my website at www.tomudall.house.gov for more
information.
