Regional Presidential Primary and Caucus Act of 2007

Mr. President, I rise to state my support for the legislation Senators Klobuchar, Alexander, and I are introducing today to create a regional Presidential primary system effective in 2012.

The goal of this legislation is to transform what has become a tired, arbitrary, and exclusive presidential primary system that simply does not give enough voters the opportunity to weigh the ideas of candidates and choose the one they think would best represent their future.

Given the significance of choosing the most powerful officeholder in the world, our Presidential selection process must be a fair and deliberate one that tests the strength of the ideas and character of all the candidates and exposes them to the maximum number of voters.

Instead, what we have now is a confusing process that, with each passing Presidential election season, becomes more and more compressed, forcing States to move their primaries up earlier in the calendar year in order to give their citizens a chance to participate, and granting disproportionate influence to the early States.

Where 50 States once scattered their primaries throughout the first half of the election year--from January through June--this year, we have a system in which 39 caucuses or primaries will be held in January and February alone, up from 19 in 2004, with enough delegates at stake potentially to decide the nominee. Almost half the States of the Union will be excluded from that process.

There is another insidious effect of this increasingly condensed schedule: The more compressed the primary schedule is the more reliant candidates become on large campaign donations and the people who give them. The fundraising primary this year has already eliminated candidates who simply could not raise sufficient funds quickly enough to be competitive in the first 2 months of the Presidential year.

This is no way for the world's greatest democracy to choose its President.

Our legislation offers a commonsense alternative that would transform the primary season into what it should be: a contest between candidates who take their cases to the broadest possible slice of the electorate.

I was honored to cosponsor proposals to bring reason to the Presidential primary system twice in the past--in 1996 and 1999--with former Senator Slade Gorton. What we are introducing today is very similar in that it calls for a regional, rotating primary system that divides the 50 States into four regions that would take turns holding primaries in the months of March, April, May, and June of the Presidential election year.

Specifically, the bill would asign all States to one of four regions--corresponding roughly to the Northeast, South, Midwest, and Western regions of the country. A lottery would determine which region goes first, and the regions would rotate in subsequent election years. Each State within a region must hold its primary or caucus during the period assigned to that region.

New Hampshire and Iowa would be permitted to continue holding the first primary and caucus, respectively, before any of the regional primaries would take place. I personally would have preferred to omit this provision in the bill. If we are going to change to a regional system, there should be no exceptions, and I am concerned that these two States will continue to have a disproportionate impact on the outcome of the nominating process. But Iowa and New Hampshire hold iconic status in the Presidential primary system and so they remain the first caucus and primary States in this bill.

The new system would take effect for the 2012 Presidential election.

By creating a series of regional primaries, we will make it more likely that all areas of the country have input into the nominee selection process, and that the candidates and their treasuries will not be stretched so thin by primaries all over the country on the same day. By spreading out the primaries over a 4-month period, we would provide the electorate with a better opportunity to evaluate the candidates over time. And with our bill, we hope that voters--not just financial contributors--will have the lion's share of influence over who the parties' nominees will be.

The guiding principle of our democracy is that every citizen has the opportunity to choose his or her leaders. But the sad truth is this principle no longer bears a resemblance to the reality of an increasingly squashed and arbitrary primary system.

We need to change our presidential primary system to make it more reasonable, more inclusive, and better structured so that it properly reflects the significance it holds--not only every 4 years but as a founding principle of our great Nation.

Mr. President, I rise to state my support for the legislation Senators Klobuchar, Alexander, and I are introducing today to create a regional Presidential primary system effective in 2012.

The goal of this legislation is to transform what has become a tired, arbitrary, and exclusive presidential primary system that simply does not give enough voters the opportunity to weigh the ideas of candidates and choose the one they think would best represent their future.

Given the significance of choosing the most powerful officeholder in the world, our Presidential selection process must be a fair and deliberate one that tests the strength of the ideas and character of all the candidates and exposes them to the maximum number of voters.

Instead, what we have now is a confusing process that, with each passing Presidential election season, becomes more and more compressed, forcing States to move their primaries up earlier in the calendar year in order to give their citizens a chance to participate, and granting disproportionate influence to the early States.

Where 50 States once scattered their primaries throughout the first half of the election year--from January through June--this year, we have a system in which 39 caucuses or primaries will be held in January and February alone, up from 19 in 2004, with enough delegates at stake potentially to decide the nominee. Almost half the States of the Union will be excluded from that process.

There is another insidious effect of this increasingly condensed schedule: The more compressed the primary schedule is the more reliant candidates become on large campaign donations and the people who give them. The fundraising primary this year has already eliminated candidates who simply could not raise sufficient funds quickly enough to be competitive in the first 2 months of the Presidential year.

This is no way for the world's greatest democracy to choose its President.

Our legislation offers a commonsense alternative that would transform the primary season into what it should be: a contest between candidates who take their cases to the broadest possible slice of the electorate.

I was honored to cosponsor proposals to bring reason to the Presidential primary system twice in the past--in 1996 and 1999--with former Senator Slade Gorton. What we are introducing today is very similar in that it calls for a regional, rotating primary system that divides the 50 States into four regions that would take turns holding primaries in the months of March, April, May, and June of the Presidential election year.

Specifically, the bill would asign all States to one of four regions--corresponding roughly to the Northeast, South, Midwest, and Western regions of the country. A lottery would determine which region goes first, and the regions would rotate in subsequent election years. Each State within a region must hold its primary or caucus during the period assigned to that region.

New Hampshire and Iowa would be permitted to continue holding the first primary and caucus, respectively, before any of the regional primaries would take place. I personally would have preferred to omit this provision in the bill. If we are going to change to a regional system, there should be no exceptions, and I am concerned that these two States will continue to have a disproportionate impact on the outcome of the nominating process. But Iowa and New Hampshire hold iconic status in the Presidential primary system and so they remain the first caucus and primary States in this bill.

The new system would take effect for the 2012 Presidential election.

By creating a series of regional primaries, we will make it more likely that all areas of the country have input into the nominee selection process, and that the candidates and their treasuries will not be stretched so thin by primaries all over the country on the same day. By spreading out the primaries over a 4-month period, we would provide the electorate with a better opportunity to evaluate the candidates over time. And with our bill, we hope that voters--not just financial contributors--will have the lion's share of influence over who the parties' nominees will be.

The guiding principle of our democracy is that every citizen has the opportunity to choose his or her leaders. But the sad truth is this principle no longer bears a resemblance to the reality of an increasingly squashed and arbitrary primary system.

We need to change our presidential primary system to make it more reasonable, more inclusive, and better structured so that it properly reflects the significance it holds--not only every 4 years but as a founding principle of our great Nation.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs be authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on September 19, 2007, at 10 a.m., to mark up H.R. 835, the Hawaiian Homeownership Opportunity Act of 2007; S. 1518, the Community Partnership to End Homelessness Act of 2007; and an original bill entitled the FHA Modernization Act of 2007.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Foreign Relations be authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on Wednesday, September 19, 2007, at 9:30 a.m., to hold a nomination hearing.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Foreign Relations be authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on Wednesday, September 19, 2007, at 3 p.m., to hold a hearing on protecting natural treasures through international organizations.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Indian Affairs be authorized to meet on Wednesday, September 19, 2007, at 9:30 a.m., in room 628 of the Dirksen Senate Office Building to conduct a hearing on the process of Federal recognition of Indian tribes.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Rules and Administration be authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on Wednesday, September 19, 2007, at 9:30 a.m., to conduct a hearing on S. 1905, the Regional Presidential Primary and Caucus Act of 2007, to provide for a rotating schedule for regional selection of delegates to a national nominating convention, and for other purposes.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent for the Committee on Veterans' Affairs to be authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on Wednesday, September 19, 2007, in order to conduct an oversight hearing on information technology within the Department of Veterans Affairs. The Committee will meet in Dirksen 562, at 9:30 a.m.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Joint Economic Committee be authorized to conduct a hearing entitled, ``Evolution of an Economic Crisis?: The Subprime Lending Disaster and the Threat to the Broader Economy'', in Room 216 of the Hart Senate Office Building, on Wednesday, September 19, 2007, from 9:30 a.m. to 1 p.m.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Special Committee on Aging be authorized to meet on, Wednesday, September 19, 2007, from 10:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m., in room SD-106 of the Dirksen Senate Office Building for the purpose of conducting a hearing.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate Committee on the Judiciary, Subcommittee on Human Rights and the Law, be authorized to conduct a hearing entitled ``The `Material Support' Bar: Denying Refuge to the Persecuted?'' on Wednesday, September 19, 2007 at 2:30 p.m., in the Dirksen Senate Office Building room 226.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Subcommittee on Transportation Safety, Infrastructure Security, and Water Quality be authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on Wednesday, September 19, 2007, at 10 a.m., in room 406 of the Dirksen Senate Office Building in order to conduct a hearing entitled, ``Meeting America's Wastewater Infrastructure Needs in the 21st Century.''

Mr. President, today I joined Senators Klobuchar and Lieberman in introducing the Regional Presidential Primary and Caucus Act. Our legislation would establish a rotating schedule of regional presidential primaries and caucuses.

We introduced this legislation because we agree that the Presidential nomination system is broken. The American dream that ``any boy or girl can grow up to be President'' has become a nightmare.

Crowded schedules and government restraints on contributions close primaries to worthy competitors. States racing to schedule early contests have made the nomination process too long and expensive. As a result, media and money make decisions voters should make.

The National Football League schedules 16 contests over 5 months to determine its champions. The Presidential nominating process uses the equivalent of two preseason contests in Iowa and New Hampshire to narrow the field to two or three and sometimes pick the winner.

If professional football were Presidential politics, SportsCenter would pick the Super Bowl teams after two preseason games.

The problem is not Iowa and New Hampshire. The problem is what comes after Iowa and New Hampshire. At least 18 States will choose delegates in a 1-day traffic jam on February 5 next year.

The legislation we introduced today requires States to spread out the primaries and caucuses into a series of regional contests over four months. Beginning in 2012, States could only schedule primaries and caucuses during the first weeks of March, April, May, and June of Presidential years.

The traditional warm up contests in Iowa and New Hampshire would still come first, but they would return to their proper role as ``off- Broadway'' opportunities for lesser known candidates to become well- enough known to compete on the 4-month-long big stage.

In addition, at the appropriate time I will offer an amendment to this legislation that would allow Presidential candidates to raise up to $20 million in individual contribution amounts of up to $10,000, indexed for inflation. The current limit of $2,300 makes it too hard for many worthy but unknown candidates to raise enough early money to be taken seriously--leaving the field to the rich--who constitutionally can spend their own funds--and famous.

Together, these two reforms--spreading out the primaries and allowing a ``start-up'' fund for candidates--will increase the pool of good candidates willing to run for the White House and give more Americans the opportunity to hear their ideas and to cast a meaningful vote.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent to have the following documents printed in the Congressional Record: a David Broder column, ``No Way to Choose a President,'' that ran in the May 10, 2007 issue of The Washington Post; Remarks that I delivered on the floor of the Senate on February 2, 2004 titled ``Two Super Bowls''; and a lecture I delivered at the Heritage Foundation on May 23, 1996 titled ``Off With the Limits: What I Learned About Money and Politics When I Ran for President.''

Mr. President, today I joined Senators Klobuchar and Lieberman in introducing the Regional Presidential Primary and Caucus Act. Our legislation would establish a rotating schedule of regional presidential primaries and caucuses.

We introduced this legislation because we agree that the Presidential nomination system is broken. The American dream that ``any boy or girl can grow up to be President'' has become a nightmare.

Crowded schedules and government restraints on contributions close primaries to worthy competitors. States racing to schedule early contests have made the nomination process too long and expensive. As a result, media and money make decisions voters should make.

The National Football League schedules 16 contests over 5 months to determine its champions. The Presidential nominating process uses the equivalent of two preseason contests in Iowa and New Hampshire to narrow the field to two or three and sometimes pick the winner.

If professional football were Presidential politics, SportsCenter would pick the Super Bowl teams after two preseason games.

The problem is not Iowa and New Hampshire. The problem is what comes after Iowa and New Hampshire. At least 18 States will choose delegates in a 1-day traffic jam on February 5 next year.

The legislation we introduced today requires States to spread out the primaries and caucuses into a series of regional contests over four months. Beginning in 2012, States could only schedule primaries and caucuses during the first weeks of March, April, May, and June of Presidential years.

The traditional warm up contests in Iowa and New Hampshire would still come first, but they would return to their proper role as ``off- Broadway'' opportunities for lesser known candidates to become well- enough known to compete on the 4-month-long big stage.

In addition, at the appropriate time I will offer an amendment to this legislation that would allow Presidential candidates to raise up to $20 million in individual contribution amounts of up to $10,000, indexed for inflation. The current limit of $2,300 makes it too hard for many worthy but unknown candidates to raise enough early money to be taken seriously--leaving the field to the rich--who constitutionally can spend their own funds--and famous.

Together, these two reforms--spreading out the primaries and allowing a ``start-up'' fund for candidates--will increase the pool of good candidates willing to run for the White House and give more Americans the opportunity to hear their ideas and to cast a meaningful vote.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent to have the following documents printed in the Congressional Record: a David Broder column, ``No Way to Choose a President,'' that ran in the May 10, 2007 issue of The Washington Post; Remarks that I delivered on the floor of the Senate on February 2, 2004 titled ``Two Super Bowls''; and a lecture I delivered at the Heritage Foundation on May 23, 1996 titled ``Off With the Limits: What I Learned About Money and Politics When I Ran for President.''