Pass an Amendment to Address Money in Politics

In 2010, the Supreme Court’s landmark Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission decision determined, on free-speech grounds, that corporate entities can give unlimited amounts of money to independent political committees. Since 2010, big money has become a fact of life in American politics, and its influence is one of the greatest obstacles to restoring faith in the political system.

The current makeup of the Supreme Court makes it unlikely that the decision in Citizens United will be overturned, which leaves only one option: a constitutional amendment.

Support for such a move is growing. Twenty states have already passed preratification legislation in support of a constitutional amendment that would allow for congressional regulation of election spending. Though nonbinding, the legislation passed by these states sends a strong signal to Congress about the will of the American people.

The framers designed constitutional amendment to be difficult: they intended it to be a solution of last resort for matters of only the highest national importance. Yet they also understood that the Constitution is not perfect. We have amended it twenty-seven times already, and now we must do so again.

American Promise and Faithful Democracy are committed to working to implement this recommendation in order to help reinvent American democracy for the 21st century.