WASHINGTON, D.C.--People For the American Way today applauded Sens. Tom Udall (D-N.M.) and Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.) and their 43 other co-sponsors for introducing the Democracy For All Amendment, a measure that would overturn Supreme Court cases like Citizens United and put power back into the hands of the American people.
“Corporations and the extremely wealthy are paralyzing our political system by flooding it with cash,” People For the American Way Executive Vice President Marge Baker said. “We applaud Sens. Udall and Shaheen and our other allies in Congress for taking this critical action to save our democracy.”
Misguided Supreme Court decisions like Citizens United unleashed a tide of campaign spending by wealthy special interests to distort the political agenda at the expense of ordinary Americans. The Democracy for All amendment would sharply curtail the ability of corporations and the wealthy to shape the votes of the people's representatives in Washington, D.C.
The amendment would allow Congress and the states to set reasonable rules for the raising and spending of money in our elections, and to distinguish in doing so between people and corporations. The measure provides the important clarification that nothing in the amendment should be construed to abridge the freedom of the press. The amendment also rejects the current Supreme Court’s misguided interpretation that the only basis for campaign finance regulation is to address corruption in the form of quid pro quo bribery.
Since the Citizens United ruling, 20 states have gone on record in support of an amendment, in addition to more than 800 localities.
About PFAW
People For the American Way is a progressive advocacy organization founded to fight right-wing extremism and defend constitutional values including free expression, religious liberty, equal justice under the law, and the right to meaningfully participate in our democracy.
###