HSLDA News	February 22, 2002

H.R. 2356 Passes House: First Amendment Liberties Still Infringed

The Campaign Finance Reform bill, House Resolution 2356, passed in the House of Representatives in the wee hours of the morning of February 14, 2002. The vote on the bill was 240-189 in favor of passage. The bill went through some modifications, but it does not appear that the free speech issues being raised by HSLDA and others regarding vague definitions of impermissible "coordination" with political candidates were addressed (Read more about these issues in our recent analysis.).

The Senate is expected to vote on and probably pass H.R. 2356 the week of February 25th. (A very similar bill passed in the Senate last year.) The bill is being sent by its sponsors to the Senate rather than to a House-Senate Conference in order to restrict the options of House Leadership, who actively opposed passage. It is still unclear whether or not the President will sign this legislation. Thank you to all who made calls. Remember, facing principled defeat is better than doing nothing at all.

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