Democracy for All Amend
see HJR 48
SEE SHAHEEN
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not supported by MTA b/c does not do corp personhood
jf 4 26 says ca sems offically backed this one not mta? yr after CU
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ntbcw coca
march 2025
03.27.2025
Shaheen Renews Push to Overturn Citizens United Ruling, Rid American Elections of Dark Money and Excessive Corporate Campaign Spending
(Washington, DC) – On the anniversary of the bipartisan McCain-Feingold Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act becoming law in 2002, U.S. Senator Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH) reintroduced a Constitutional amendment to overturn the Supreme Court’s Citizens United v. FEC decision, which removed campaign finance restrictions and enabled entities to spend unlimited money to influence elections. The Shaheen-led Democracy for All Amendment would also overturn other far-reaching decisions around campaign finance that wrongfully equated money with free speech and unfairly determined that big, wealthy corporations have the same First Amendment rights as people.
“Extreme, misguided court rulings like Citizens United have flooded our elections with dark money and special interests that drown out the voices of our citizens,” said Shaheen. “The promise that we are a government ‘of the people, by the people, for the people’ is a core tenet of our democracy that all Americans—regardless of political affiliation—hold dear. I’m reintroducing this Constitutional amendment to overturn the disastrous Citizens United decision and return the power to the American people in our elections.”
The Democracy for All Amendment would empower Congress and states to set reasonable campaign finance rules and limit corporate spending. The amendment would enshrine in the Constitution the right of the American people to regulate the raising and spending of funds in public elections and curb the concentration of political influence held by the wealthiest Americans.
Along with Shaheen, U.S. Senators Alex Padilla (D-CA), Brian Schatz (D-HI), Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), Chris Coons (D-DE), Raphael Warnock (D-GA), Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), Tina Smith (D-MN), Ron Wyden (D-OR), Jeff Merkley (D-OR), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), Michael Bennet (D-CO), Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Angus King (I-ME), Mark Kelly (D-AZ), Martin Heinrich (D-NM), Andy Kim (D-NJ), Catherine Cortez Masto (D-NV), Chuck Schumer (D-NY), Maggie Hassan (D-NH), Peter Welch (D-VT), Ed Markey (D-MA), Bernie Sanders (I-VT), Patty Murray (D-WA), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), Ruben Gallego (D-AZ), Jacky Rosen (D-NV), Jack Reed (D-RI), Tim Kaine (D-VA), Mazie Hirono (D-HI), Adam Schiff (D-CA), John Fetterman (D-PA), Gary Peters (D-MI), Dick Durbin (D-IL), Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), Ben Ray Lujan (D-NM), Mark Warner (D-VA) and Cory Booker (D-NJ) are also cosponsors of the Democracy for All Amendment.
Shaheen has led the Democracy for All Amendment for years and has long supported Congressional action to protect election integrity in our country. Last year, Shaheen called on the Election Assistance Commission (EAC) to clarify whether grant funds from the Help America Vote Act can be used to make local elections more accessible to voters with disabilities. In 2022, Shaheen helped introduce and pass two proposals that include legislation to reform and modernize the outdated Electoral Count Act of 1887 to ensure that the electoral votes tallied by Congress accurately reflect each state’s vote for President. In 2021, Shaheen helped reintroduce the DISCLOSE Act, legislation that would require organizations spending money in federal elections to disclose their donors and help guard against hidden foreign influence in our democracy.
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12 23 padilla supports democ 4 all?
9/23 john says Padilla supports (46 MOC support both 59)}:
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primary 7/18 noam cites
some bad code
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Lever Actions, Americans for Tax Fairness Action Fund, Democracy for America Advocacy Fund, Drug Prices are Too High, Inequality Media Civic Action, National Campaign for Justice, Native Organizers Alliance Action Fund, Other98, People Power United, Progress America, Social Security Works, Solidarity Action, TakeItBack.Org, The Workers Circle, Trader Joe's United, The Labor Force, Just Foreign Policy, Patriotic Millionaires, and Corporate AccountabilitY
Additional Sponsors
Americans for Tax Fairness Action Fund
Washington, DC
Democracy for America Advocacy Fund
Burlington, VT
Drug Prices are Too High
Inequality Media Civic Action
Berkeley, CA
National Campaign for Justice
Seattle, WA
Native Organizers Alliance Action Fund
Other98
Portland, OR
People Power United
Progress America
Social Security Works
Solidarity Action
TakeItBack.Org
Sioux Falls, SD
The Workers Circle
Trader Joe's United
The Labor Force
Just Foreign Policy
Patriotic Millionaires
Corporate Accountability
Boston, MA
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jan 2023
Public Citizen Applauds Reintroduction of Democracy for All Amendment
WASHINGTON, D.C. –U.S. Reps. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.), Dean Phillips (D-Minn.), Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.), and Jim McGovern (D-Mass.) today reintroduced ththe Democracy for All Amendment, which would overturn Citizens United vs. FEC. Robert Weissman, president of Public Citizen, issued the following response:
“Public Citizen applauds the introduction of the desperately needed Democracy for All constitutional amendment by Reps. Adam Schiff, Dean Phillips, Pramila Jayapal and Jim McGovern. The amendment would overturn Citizens United and Buckley v. Valeo and restore the right of We the People to impose reasonable limits on campaign spending.
“There is a direct line from the U.S. Supreme Court’s horrific Citizens United decision to the rise of fascistic movements threatening the very existence of our democracy.
“In entrenching the ‘right’ of corporations and the super-rich to spend whatever they choose to influence election outcomes, Citizens United transformed our campaign finance system from flawed to frightful.
“Citizens United has entrenched an American oligarchy. As one shocking measure of this oligarchic control: The top 100 donors are responsible for two-thirds of all Super PAC contributions. Just 100 people!
“The tiny number of individuals – overwhelmingly white men – and corporations that dominate election spending exert an outsized and undemocratic effect on who runs for office, how candidates campaign, what policies are debated, who wins, and what are considered the boundaries of legitimate policy debate.
“It is this system that explains, as much as any other factor, why Americans are denied the policies they overwhelmingly favor: lowering drug prices, raising the minimum wage, protecting clean water, breaking up the Big Banks, making corporations and the rich pay their fair share of taxes, mitigating climate chaos, expanding Medicare, and much more.
“The reality and perception of super rich and corporate control of our politics – as well as the failure of the government to address the felt needs of people across the nation – fuels despair and alienation. It creates ripe conditions for conspiracists and demagogues to offer false solutions and appeal to people’s worst instincts. It has fueled the fascistic movements that pose a clear and present danger to our democratic future.
“We can’t go on like this – and there’s no reason we should. Citizens United is unmoored from the constitution and basic notions of democracy accountability. It’s time for it to be overturned by the Democracy for All amendment.
“The public is demanding action. Four in five Americans oppose Citizens United. Twenty-two states and more than 800 cities and towns have passed resolutions or ballot initiatives calling for a constitutional amendment, and millions have signed petitions calling for an amendment.”
democracy for all amendment
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from: Senator Alex Padilla [mailto:Senator_Padilla@padilla.senate.gov]
Sent: Tuesday, December 6, 2022 11:56 AM
To: bc899899@comcast.net
Subject: Re: Confirmation of receipt of letter dated July 24, 2021 from Move to Amend (HJR 48)
Thank you for writing to share your thoughts regarding campaign finance reform. I appreciate hearing from you.
Ever since the Supreme Court ruled against limiting campaign spending by corporations and nonprofit organizations in Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission in 2010, dark money and super PACs have polluted our political system. America desperately needs to empower citizens by building a 21st-century campaign finance system that increases the power of small donors and reaffirms Congress’ authority to regulate money in politics.
As your Senator, I have worked to push pack against Citizens United. That is why I am a proud original cosponsor of the “Democracy Is Strengthened by Casting Light On Spending in Elections (DISCLOSE) Act of 2021” (S.443), introduced by Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), which would enhance `*
To end an era in which wealthy corporations have been given free rein to spend nearly unlimited money on political campaigns, Democrats in the U.S. House on Thursday proposed a constitutional amendment that would overturn the hugely consequential Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission decision by U.S. Supreme Court, saying the ruling "has dangerously eroded" the government's ability to serve the public interest.
Reps. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.), Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.), Dean Phillips (D-Minn.), and Jim McGovern (D-Mass.) led dozens of co-sponsors in introducing the Democracy for All Amendmenttwo days before the 13th anniversary of the Citizens United decision, in which the court struck down a ban on corporate independent expenditures.
According to Schiff, the constitutional amendment—which the congressman first proposed in 2013—would:
Make clear the Constitution does not restrict the ability of Congress or the states to propose reasonable, viewpoint-neutral limitations on the raising and spending of money by candidates and others to influence elections;
Distinguish between natural persons and corporations or other artificial entities, including by prohibiting the latter from spending unlimited amounts of money to influence elections;
Allow states to enact public campaign financing systems, which can restrict the influence of corporate or private wealth; and
Take further steps to protect the freedom of the press in the case of future campaign finance-related legislation.
The proposal, said the campaign finance reform group End Citizens United, "strikes at the heart" of the 2010 ruling.
"It would affirm the right of the people to pass state and federal laws by restoring Congress' and the states' authority to place [limits] on political spending," said the group.
In addition to overturning Citizens United, the Democrats aim to overturn the "fundamental flaws" and legal precedents that underpinned the court's reasoning in 2010 and in "an entire line of cases dating back to the 1976 Buckley v. Valeo decision, which prevented meaningful regulation of campaign expenditures by corporations and special interest groups."
"Citizens United was one of the most egregious enablers of special interest money, but it was only the latest in a long line of Supreme Court cases that opened the floodgates. To truly rein in dark money, we must amend our Constitution," Schiff's office 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."
The 2010 ruling allowed special interest groups and corporations to create super PACs, which can accept unlimited donations—including from "dark money groups" whose contributors are hidden from the public—and spend unlimited amounts of money on campaigns.
John Bonifaz, president and co-founder of Free Speech For People, said the amendment would allow for overall campaign spending limits and public campaign financing systems and would end the big money dominance of our elections."
The Democracy for All Act would affirm, said Jayapal, that "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," said the congresswoman. "It's time to ensure our democracy works for all people by getting big money out of politics and ensuring every voter's voice is heard."
shaheen
1/23 22 orig co-sponors of 40?
https://www.congress.gov/bill/117th-congress/**senate-**joint-resolution/25/cosponsors
180 co sponHouse- 03/04/2021 Referred to the Subcommittee on the Constitution, Civil Rights, and Civil Liberties. (All Actions)
https://oversight.house.gov/subcommittees/civil-rights-and-civil-liberties-117th-congress**jamie raskinchair, jimbo jordan
Introduced in House (01/04/2021)
This joint resolution proposes a constitutional amendment authorizing Congress and the states to set reasonable limits on the raising and spending of money by candidates and others to influence elections.
The amendment grants Congress and the states the power to implement and enforce this amendment by legislation. They are allowed to distinguish between natural persons and corporations or other artificial entities created by law, including by prohibiting such entities from spending money to influence elections.
apr 2019
following the historic passage of the For the People Act (H.R. 1), the most extensive and powerful set of pro-democracy reforms to pass the House in decades, People For the American Way and our allies are working to build support for stand-alone reforms that are key to fixing our democracy and creating a political system that works for everyone.
One campaign finance reform that is particularly critical to addressing the influence of big money in politics is a constitutional amendment to overturn Citizens United and other related Supreme Court cases, which have allowed unlimited sums of money to be spent in our elections. The Democracy For All Amendment (H.J.Res. 2) has been introduced by Rep. Ted Deutch , D-Fla., and already has 101 cosponsors. This proposed amendment would allow Congress and the states to regulate and set limits on the raising and spending of money in our elections, as well as legally distinguish between the rights of people and corporations. It also provides the important clarification that nothing in the amendment should be construed to abridge the freedom of the press. Since the Citizens United decision in 2010, this amendment has emerged as a leading solution among reform-minded members of Congress,even getting afloor vote after a week of debate in the Senate, with 54 Senators voting in support during the 113thCongress in 2014.
Importantly, the Democracy For All Amendment also rejects the current Court’s misguided interpretation that the only basis for campaign finance regulation is to address corruption in the form of quid pro quo bribery. In fact, in addition to preventing corruption, there are multiple rationales that justify campaign finance regulation, including but not limited to: leveling the electoral playing field; advancing the fundamental principle of equality for all; and protecting the integrity of the governmental and electoral processes.
There is widespread support for an amendment to address the influence of big money in politics. Since the Citizens United ruling there have been 19 states that have gone on record in support of an amendment, in addition to nearly 800 localities. And earlier this year, through the passage of the For the People Act, the House of Representatives called for an amendment. Likewise, in the Senate, every Democrat has endorsed the H.R. 1 companion bill, which also calls for a constitutional amendment to overturn Citizens United.
Tags:
Citizens United v. FEC constitutional amendment Democracy For All Amendment Fighting Big Money in Politics For the People Act
https://www.newsweek.com/big-money-citizens-united-campaign-funding-1451687
Today, Senator Tom Udall (D-NM) introduces the Democracy for All Amendment to overturn Citizens United v. FEC and get big money out of politics. The bill is co-sponsored by Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) along with 2020 presidential candidates Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), Senator Kamala Harris (D-CA), Senator Bernie Sanders (D-VT), Senator Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), Senator Cory Booker (D-NJ), Senator Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) and Senator Michael Bennet (D-CO).
If passed and ratified, the Amendment will become the 28th Amendment to the US Constitution. This constitutional amendment will enable what the vast majority of Americans across the political spectrum urgently want, which are reasonable limits on money in state and federal elections to combat corruption, increase electoral competition, and protect the right of every American to speak, be heard and have representation in our political system.
With a large number of Democratic Senators and presidential candidates joining in support of the proposal, and with Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell adamantly opposed, some may be tempted to write this off as a partisan stunt.
Others may point to the high bar for constitutional amendments needing passage by two-thirds of Congress and ratification by three-quarters of the states. They might assume this proposal is an exercise in futility. Both reactions, while understandable in normal political times, are misplaced today.
With record-breaking money flooding our political system, a collapse in confidence in both our government and democracy itself, political parties fragmented and challenged by outsiders, independents, and billionaire-driven free-lance political operations, any calculation about the stability of current political alignments is hazardous at best.
Today, the American electorate is alienated, angry and fearful, sensing that the people have lost control of the system. And they're right.
The 2018 midterm election was the most expensive in history with over five billion dollars spent in all races. Most of this money came from less than half of 1 precent of Americans. Nearly 90 percent of voters see corruption as widespread, and more than half now call political corruption a crisis that is greater than deficits, immigration and climate change.
A series of disastrous Supreme Court decisions has helped create the dire situation we face. A decade ago, in *Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission*, the Court decreed that because money may amplify speech, limits on political spending amount to a violation of free speech rights, no matter the amount or source of money or the consequences to the free speech rights of those without such money.
By now it is clear that the Court's theory, that unlimited spending increases information for voters and competition to incumbents, has failed. Only a tiny elite donate more than $200 to political campaigns. Yet, these donations account for more than 70 percent of all individual contributions to federal candidates, PACs, parties and outside groups.
Data shows that because money reigns, most Americans cannot participate meaningfully in determining candidates and election results. Wealthy Americans and corporate interests hold wildly disproportionate influence, and they typically have different policy preferences than the average voter. Incumbents raise more money because they can reward donors and punish enemies, and they usually win, no matter how frustrated the voters may be.
The Court has not corrected course but has doubled down in subsequent cases, going after long-standing state and federal anti-corruption laws as supposed violations of the First Amendment. So, only a constitutional amendment can fix the problem and give power to the American people and the states, curbing a race toward plutocracy.
Historically, amendments have come in turbulent times. Americans ratified four amendments between 1961 and 1971, just as their grandparents ratified four amendments between 1910 and 1920 to help bring America out of the crisis of inequality that marked the Gilded Age. Eight of amendments have nullified Supreme Court decisions.
But historic analogy alone won't get an amendment ratified. Successful amendments must meet two critical requirements: A national consensus that it must be done, and ubiquitous citizen and political engagement that creates the will for the 2/3 vote in Congress and ratification across 38 diverse states. This amendment meets both requirements.
National consensus is overwhelming and persistent.More than 75 percent of Americans support an amendment to limit the power of money in state and federal elections. Citizen grass-roots efforts from Republicans, Democrats and Independents have driven votes in scores of states and local communities that have passed resolutions for this amendment, typically with 70-85 percent popularity. In states from Montana to Maine, and Wyoming to New Hampshire, Republicans and Democrats have joined together to support an amendment to authorize effective election spending rules.
As of this month, twenty states and more than 800 towns and cities have passed formal resolutions calling for the amendment. Millions of Americans have petitioned Congress, state legislatures, and have passed ballot initiatives in five states to advance this amendment.
We must continue to move this constitutional amendment forward and renew our national commitment to effective self-government of equal, free citizens. In the past three years, five more states took action in legislatures or ballot initiatives to press Congress to act, and 250 candidates in 2018 signed a pledge to support the amendment. In all 50 states, Americans have joined local associations, participated in 28th Amendment town halls, written, called, and visited Capitol Hill and state legislatures in citizen lobby days. They've successfully conducted cross-partisan community outreach where they live.
Millions of Americans are tired of the cynicism and know that the era of toxic partisanship, corruption, domination of money from the few, and massively unequal representation must end. Only then will effective democracy have a future, and will we be able to tackle so many urgent, long-festering and dangerous national challenges.
Jeff Clements is President of American Promise
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