Columbia Standard

U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin, along with Senator Tammy Duckworth, has joined Senator Jeanne Shaheen and 37 other Democratic and Independent Senators in reintroducing a proposed Constitutional amendment aimed at overturning the Supreme Court's Citizens United v. FEC decision. This decision removed limits on campaign finance, leading to increased influence from foreign and domestic entities in U.S. elections. The proposed amendment seeks to address campaign finance issues by overturning decisions that equate money with free speech and granting corporations the same First Amendment rights as individuals.

Durbin highlighted his concerns with the ruling, stating, "The Citizens United ruling opened the floodgates for dark money to directly impact our political system for the benefit of corporations and special interests." He continued by emphasizing the need to mend the campaign finance system to prevent a few wealthy donors from having more influence than millions of Americans.

Duckworth echoed these sentiments, noting, "It is past time that we get the corrosive influence of big money out of our politics to stop billionaires and massive corporations from boxing out the voices of middle-class families."

The Democracy for All Amendment would allow Congress and states to set campaign finance rules and limit corporate spending, aiming to distribute political influence more evenly among American citizens, as stated in the amendment's proposals.

The list of cosponsors includes Senators Alex Padilla, Brian Schatz, Chris Van Hollen, Chris Coons, Raphael Warnock, Amy Klobuchar, and several others. This group of lawmakers supports the amendment as a means to restore balance in political fundraising by empowering the people.

Both Durbin and Duckworth previously backed the For the People Act, a package of reforms designed to combat special interest corruption. This legislation passed the House of Representatives in 2021 but could not achieve the required votes in the Senate due to Republican opposition.