President Bush signed into law a bill nearly identical to the McCain-Feingold Act on March 28, drawing renewed support and criticism for campaign finance reform.
Two lawsuits have since been filed claiming that the legislation is unconstitutional because it restricts free speech.
Junior Tara Purohit spoke for campaign finance reform and focused her comments on reform in state governments. She said reform is necessary because politicians do not represent the public and the system relies too heavily on money.
Freshman Alak Shah, who spoke out against specific legislation regarding campaign finance reform, said enacting the reform act will worsen the incumbency effect, which means politicians already in office have a better chance of winning their seats on multiple occasions.
Both Purohit and freshman P.J. Lusk said they support publicly financed elections as a solution to leveling the playing field for all people who might want to run for office but would otherwise not have the money to campaign.
"The fact that John Edwards can pull from his own money to run gives him an advantage," Purohit said. "You need to change where the money is coming from."
But Shah disagreed, saying limiting the amount politicians can raise hinders free speech and is unconstitutional.
"If you want to spend your own money, that is your own business," he said.
Shah added that based on poll results, people do not support publicly funded elections. He said less than 20 percent of people check the box on tax forms that gives money to the political party of their choice.
