Jared Allen
The Hill
2/11/2010
Democrats are hoping to fast-track a set of sweeping new campaign finance regulations to prevent the Supreme Court’s landmark Citizens United decision from affecting the November midterm elections.
Sen. Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) and Rep. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) on Thursday unveiled the majority party’s legislative response to the Citizens United case, which they and other Democrats — including President Barack Obama — have sharply criticized as one that will “open the floodgates” to corporate financing of federal elections.
Opting against a constitutional amendment to undo the court’s rejection of existing laws that ban certain political spending by corporations, Democrats are proposing to ban donations by foreign-influenced and taxpayer-assisted corporations, as well as a series of tough new disclosure requirements on corporations that would still be allowed to steer money toward political action groups…
…With the blessing of Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), Schumer and Van Hollen have written legislation — which they will introduce the week Congress returns from the Presidents Day recess — to ban companies with 20 percent or more foreign make-up, as well as government contractors, from being able to fund political advertisements. But the new ban would also extend to any company that received and has not yet paid back Wall Street bailout funds.
The article continues at The Hill.
