John Sarbanes

“ If only the wealthiest individuals can participate meaningfully in our democracy, then these First Amendment principles become an illusion. (3) Campaign finance laws promote these First Amendment interests. They increase robust debate from diverse voices, enhance the responsiveness of elected officeholders, and help prevent corruption. They do not censor anyone’s speech but simply ensure that no one’s speech is drowned out. ”

“ The more campaign cash from wealthy special interests can flood our elections, the more policies that favor those interests are reflected in the national political agenda. When it comes to policy preferences, our Nation’s wealthiest tend to have fundamentally different views than do average Americans when it comes to issues ranging from unemployment benefits to the minimum wage to health care coverage. ”

“ At the same time millions of Americans have signed petitions, marched, called their Members of Congress, written letters to the editor, and otherwise demonstrated their public support for a constitutional amendment to overturn Citizens United that will allow Congress to reign in the outsized influence of unchecked money in politics. ”

“ The Founders designed the First Amendment to help prevent tyranny by ensuring that the people have the tools they need to ensure self-government and to keep their elected leaders responsive to the public. ”

“ Additionally, an unknown amount of foreign money continues to be spent in our political system as subsidiaries of foreign-based corporations and hostile foreign actors sometimes connected to nation-states work to influence our elections. (5) The Supreme Court’s misinterpretation of the Constitution to empower monied interests at the expense of the American people in elections has seriously eroded over 100 years of congressional action to promote fairness and protect elections from the toxic influence of money. ”

“ By 1910, Congress began passing disclosure requirements and campaign expenditure limits, and dozens of States passed corrupt practices Acts to prohibit corporate spending in elections. States also enacted campaign spending limits, and some States limited the amount that people could contribute to campaigns. ”

“ In the wake of Citizens United and other damaging Federal court decisions, Americans have witnessed an explosion of outside spending in elections. Outside spending increased more than 700 percent between the 2008 and 2020 Presidential election years. Spending by outside groups nearly doubled again from 2016 to 2020 with super PACs, tax-exempt groups, and others spending more than $3,000,000,000. ”

“ Transcending political leanings and geographic location, voters in States and municipalities across the country that have placed amendment questions on the ballot have routinely supported these initiatives by considerably large margins. ”

“ In 1947, the Taft-Hartley Act prohibited corporations and unions from making campaign contributions or other expenditures to influence elections. In 1962, a Presidential commission on election spending recommended spending limits and incentives to increase small contributions from more people. ”