House Dems Introduced Constitutional Amendment To Restrict Campaign Funding
Do you support the Democracy for All amendment?
What’s the story?
- Last week, a group of House Democrats introduced a constitutional amendment that would overturn a Supreme Court ruling on corporate campaign spending.
- In the 2010 Citizens United v. FEC case, the Supreme Court voted to eliminate the restrictions on corporate campaign spending by companies, nonprofit organizations, and unions.
- The Democrats’ Democracy For All Amendment would allow Congress and state governments to enact reasonable restrictions on campaign funds and allow states to create public campaign financing systems.
Citizens United v. FEC
- The Citizens United decision from 2010 allows unlimited amounts of money to be donated to politicians. Opponents of the decision believe it has brought imbalance to our political systems, giving a bigger platform to wealthy groups and individuals.
What are the House Dems saying?
- Rep. Adam Schiff (D-CA) introduced the amendment a few days before the tenth anniversary of the 2010 Supreme Court case. In a press release, he said:
“The Democracy for All Amendment will close legal loopholes that wealthy megadonors, corporations, and special interest groups have exploited for far too long, and return power to the people once and for all.”
- This is Rep. Schiff’s tenth attempt to pass the amendment. He continued:
“The flow of unrestricted corporate and dark money into our elections has dangerously eroded the American people’s faith in our democracy, and in our government’s ability to deliver for them and their families.”
- Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-WA) reminded the public of the harm done by the Supreme Court’s decision. She said:
“Corporations are not people and money is not speech. In every election following Citizens United, billions of dollars of dark money have been dumped into our electoral system, giving corporations and the richest Americans outsized power and influence.”
- Rep. Jim McGovern (D-MA) followed:
“The disastrous Citizens United decision has undermined our democracy and drowned out the voices of the people for long enough. Americans overwhelmingly support protecting access to abortion, preventing gun violence, and lowering healthcare costs–but wealthy special interests too often stand in the way of action.”
What are opponents saying?
- Republicans have been opposing this amendment for years.
- In 2014, GOP Senators blocked the proposal from being debated in Congress. The Senators mainly pointed to free speech as the reason behind their opposition to Democracy for All.
- Sen. Ted Cruz presented various arguments against the amendment, including that it would abandon civil liberties, prohibit labor unions from organizing workers, and give Congress the power to ban mixed forms of media — all of which are untrue, according to the House Democrats.
Do you support the amendment?
-Jamie Epstein
(Photo credit: iStock/Joaquin Corbalan)
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The disconnect between Congress and voters is because Congress spends half its time raising money for re-election campaigns, They also spend the remaining half representing large campaign donors as opposed to the voters that elected them.
While this is an issue effecting us all, I doubt the current House leadership sees it this way making it difficult to bring legislation to the floor for a debate much less a vote. To get to the floor it needs not only the support of the House Majority leader but the Rules Committee now controlled by the Freedom Caucus. Currently co-sponsors are all dems. If they want to move forward they need co-sponsors not only from the other side of the aisle but the far right Freedom Caucus.
"Despite a $174,000 salary, members of Congress do the job we elected them to do only "part time." The rest of the time, they are chasing money for their re-election campaigns."
https://www.newsweek.com/why-do-congressmen-spend-only-half-their-time-serving-us-357995?amp=1
Been an advocate of this for many years and will support this bill. Sadly, greed, a lust for power with control over the masses, caused by over blown egos won't allow this to happen. This is why I advocate not re-electing any official after their first term in office. This method reduces the ability to limit big money influence.
The next thing on the agenda should be to outlaw all political parties who make their millions off of conning the tax payers with half truths, and outright lies to retain their power and control. This, in turn, would force all politicians to work only for the people they represent within their own state. We have to start somewhere.
Congress shall make no law...abridging the freedom of speech
Pass “The Democracy for All Amendment” Campaign financing reform is sorely needed. Simply put, the as is “Profit drives Policy” needs to be reversed for democracy to be saved.
As long as Citizens United exists, Corporations can pour money into the party that will benefit themselves! campaign funding must be restricted, so that those WE elect actually represent their constitutents and not a corporation or a religious group! If we aren't careful, we could easily lose our Democracy! Our Constitnution is amazing in that each branch of our government can check the other! Our government was specifically set up to stop any one group from taking over, and can stop anyone that wants to be an authoritarian! It's important that the Constitution be followed, and that's why every member of Congress has to take an Oath of Office to follow and protect the Constitution!
Close the loophole in donations. Allowing corporate donations & anonymous PACs is tantamount to an invitation to corrupt politicians on every level. (Everyone who can afford a politician, should buy one, right? It's just good business.) It prevents regular people, who can't afford 100K/ plate fundraisers, from having any real influence with their representatives; no access means no influence. I don't think letters to our representatives have quite as much affect on legislation as a $million from an oil company. The sheer number of lobbyists in Washington, with their huge budgets, indicate that influencing with money works. While it's expensive to run a political campaign, politicians need to remember that these influencers aren't their constituents. Doing their bidding doesn't serve 95% of Americans, or the country's morale or our embattled environment. Limit them.
They should have annual Audits of every member.
We are the only democracy in the world that has such a crazy system as we do. Campaigned should be no more than $1 million. No more donations from large corporations with her not American citizens they are businesses. And business has no business running the government. Look where that got us in the 1920s if anybody is a student of history.
Totally support. No donor should be buying an elected official and no elected official should cater to their big donors to the exclusion of the voters who put their asses in office.
We know how influential Big Money is in determining who gets elected.
Set a limit on 'Big Money'...period!
When a corporation is allowed to bribe judges and sponsor politicians, when it as a non-living entity have more rights and more say over MY body and life than I do as a tax paying, hard working, American woman, it's time to drain the swamp and throw anyone supported by politicians and the rich in jail for dereliction of sworn duties.
As a retired teacher who conducted active shooter drills, I want to eliminate the control organizations like the NRA exercise over our elected officials, so limiting those contributions is pivotal to returning government to the actual will of the people.
Yeah, cut out corporate donations and make politicians beg for money like the rest of us. Also, they should cut back on the campaign cycle. All our politicians do is campaign, take our money and give us diddly squat in return. It's like service providers upping fees yet offering no extra services.
Politicians should be bought by we the people not corporate entities whom do not have a vested interest in the betterment of society but greed instead. Make all funding grassroots by individuals only.
We the people should be deciding NOT CORPORATIONS !
About time.
Rich people and large business should not be able to buy or influence elections. Neither should evangelical churches.
I see this as a natural step forward in campaign reform. Each person should have a voice. Basing elections on the money a candidate can raise rather than on their history, abilities, and stands on issues has distorted the process. I hope this reform is finally passed and changes how our elections are run.
Big business and millionairies should not buy representation as they do now. We the people should be able to see who and what donations are given to Congress. Money should be capped and donations publiciticized.
You must get all the Republicans who tried to overthrow the the government out of office. Look at what a waste of time they are. Doing nothing for the American people. All political and trying to save Trumps ass. Lock him up. Putting a bill up to ban a fellow congressman from seeing classified documents. It's pay back for Trump. Who should have been kicked out of office.
Ever since the Supreme Court ruling on Citizens United, campaign financing has been a black eye for America.
The insane amounts of money that Corporations have been funneling into American political races, is becoming a real problem. This need to have guard rails and common sense rules about how campaigns received funds.
Should be limits on outside money!