On Fifth Anniversary of Citizens United, Congressman Cohen and Others Introduce Constitutional Amendment to Get Big Money Out of Politics

Statement

On the five-year anniversary of the Supreme Court's 5-4 ruling in Citizens United v. FEC, Congressman Steve Cohen (TN-09) joined U.S. Representatives Ted Deutch (FL-21), Donna F. Edwards (MD-04), and Jim McGovern (MA-02) to introduce the Democracy for All Amendment. This proposed amendment to the United States Constitution would reverse highly controversial Supreme Court decisions like Citizens United v. FEC and McCutcheon v. FEC, which have given corporations and America's wealthiest donors a right to buy unlimited influence in our elections.

"With decisions like Citizens United and McCutcheon over the last five years, the Supreme Court has opened the floodgates and made it easier for billionaires and corporations to completely drown middle-class Americans out of the political process," said Congressman Cohen. "The far-reaching, democracy-damaging consequences of these misguided decisions have made it clear that something needs to change. I am proud to help introduce the Democracy for All Amendment to ensure that every citizen's right to equally participate in our democracy."

Sponsored by Senators Tom Udall (D-NM) and Bernie Sanders (I-VT) in the U.S. Senate and Reps. Deutch, McGovern, and Edwards in the House of Representatives, the Democracy for All Amendment would reverse Supreme Court decisions like Citizens United by enshrining in the Constitution the right of the American people to enact state and federal laws that regulate spending in public elections.

The Democracy for All Amendment is the end result of extensive collaboration between the House and Senate sponsors of previously proposed constitutional amendments and several grassroots advocacy organizations committed to getting big money out of politics, including Public Citizen, People for the American Way, Free Speech for People, and Common Cause. In addition to overturning recent rulings like Citizens United and McCutcheon, the Democracy for All Amendment also reverses the Supreme Court's controversial holding in Buckley v. Valeo that money spent in elections is a form of speech protected by the First Amendment.

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