Drug Policy Alliance Testifies Against New Rules to Stifle Free Speech

Testimony by Bill Piper. "Bill Piper Testimony to FEC." Thursday, April 15, 2004.

Good afternoon. I'm Bill Piper, Director of National Affairs for the Drug Policy Alliance, the nation's leading drug policy reform organization. The Alliance's legal concerns with these proposed rules were outlined in the comments we submitted, so I won't repeat them today.

At stake in this debate is what it means to be an American. The foundation of our system of government is that every American has a right to criticize elected officials and influence government without fear of being fined or jailed. These proposed rules would crack that foundation in two. America would be divided into two groups, the rich and powerful who could afford legal advice on how to influence decision-makers, and average Americans who will be too afraid of organizing to influence their government for fear they will be punished.

I've spent more than a decade working to change our nation's laws. Much of this work has been toward making our political system more accessible to the average American, including reducing the power of incumbency and making it easier for citizens to vote on laws at the ballot box. Through this work I realized our nation's election and campaign finance laws are already so complex that only the rich can afford the lawyers needed to figure them out. Enacting these proposed rules will only make the problem worse.

They would also give government officials too much power. They would replace the simple, easily-followed, "bright line" test of "vote for/vote against" with a standard that would give federal officials too much discretion to decide for themselves which citizen groups should be punished and which should not. This not only undermines the principle of equality under the law, it undermines the rule of law itself.

There are those in power who will use whatever means they can to silence their opposition. When I was helping to put term limits initiatives on state ballots it was common for our donors to stop giving because politicians told them that if they continued to fund us they would lose government contracts and face increased audits and regulations. Throughout my many years promoting the initiative and referendum process, I saw citizen initiatives that challenged the political status quo thrown off the ballot for technical reasons, while big business and big labor used lawyers and lobbyists to stay on the ballot.

Now I work in the drug policy reform movement, which is growing so rapidly our opponents are desperately trying to use any means to stop us. There have been bills introduced in Congress to take away our tax-exempt status. We're barred from running pro-reform ads on any subway, train, or bus in the country -even though our opposition is allowed to do so. Members of Congress have encouraged federal agencies to audit our donors. In New York the political establishment is using campaign finance laws to silence Russell Simmons and others that advocate changing New York's draconian Rockefeller Drug Laws. I can give you a list of politicians who will likely lobby this commission to use these proposed rules to silence our advocacy efforts. Undoubtedly, those afraid of other movements, such as the gun control movement or the pro-choice or pro-life movement, will seek to use these proposed rules to silence them as well.

This Commission is made up of good people and I respect the important work that each of you does. But, when debating these rules, please remember that you will one day be a private citizen and the person who replaces you might not be as fair and balanced as you are. When Congress first debated the First Amendment there were many who voted for it even though they had no problem with the government suppressing the speech of certain groups and individuals. But they realized the need to limit this power because they would one day hand it over to others.

This Commission is under enormous pressure to quickly enact these rules. It will not be easy resisting this pressure, but you need to resist it. Don't let short-term political concerns overshadow what is in our country's long-term interest. Generations of Americans to come are depending upon you to reject these proposed rules.

Thank you for your time.