Washington, D.C. – U.S. Senator Mike Enzi, R-Wyo., voted against a measure today that he said would violate free speech rights and do very little to reduce the possibility of corruption in federal election campaigns.

The U.S. Senate passed today the Shays-Meehan bill on campaign finance by a vote of 60-40.

The following is a statement by Enzi regarding the legislation.

"The Shays-Meehan bill is a blatant violation of the Constitution.

"All organizations have a first amendment right to promote their political beliefs through contributions as long as there is full disclosure of those contributions. The Supreme Court has ruled that in political campaigns, spending limits are speech limits, and that is unconstitutional.

"In effect, this legislation censures first amendment free speech by determining who can and can't participate in public debate. If the goal of campaign finance reform is to limit the influence of special interest groups, this legislation has sorely missed the mark.

"When it comes down to it, no matter how inconvenient it is for re-election campaigns, Congress doesn't have the exclusive right to control this nation's political debate and we especially don't have the right to say who is allowed to participate in that debate.

"I understand the need for election reform but I have serious reservations about this legislation and I don't believe the courts will uphold this kind of attack on free speech."