California Democratic Rep. Adam Schiff introduced a constitutional amendment on Wednesday that would overturn the Supreme Court’s 2010 Citizens United ruling, which allowed for unlimited corporate campaign spending.
Schiff’s amendment would allow Congress and individual states to impose limits on campaign contributions, The Hill reports. A Constitutional amendment of any kind has a steep hill to climb. The amendment must be approved by a two-thirds majority in both the Senate and House and then be ratified by at least 38 state legislatures.
Schiff’s amendment would allow states to impose their own laws on public financing of campaigns, The Hill reported.
Schiff: ‘Our Democracy is Not for Sale’:
"Our democracy is not for sale," Schiff tweeted after introducing the amendment. "We must stop the flood of dark money from drowning out the voices of everyday citizens."
"The Supreme Court's decision in Citizens United overturned decades of legal precedent and has enabled billions in dark money to pour into our elections," he added in a statement.
"Amending the Constitution is an extraordinary step, but it is the only way to safeguard our democratic process against the threat of unrestrained and anonymous spending by wealthy individuals and corporations," he said. "This amendment will restore power to everyday citizens."
Citizens United lets corporations spend unlimited funds on elections:
“By a 5-4 ruling, the high court in 2010 swept aside a ban on independent spending by corporations and unions in candidate elections, saying the restrictions amounted to censorship. Outside spending in federal elections has soared from $338 million in 2008, the last presidential election before the ruling, to $1.4 billion in 2016,” CNN reported.
