Press Release

January 21, 2015
Cardin Seeks to Roll Back the Dangers of Citizens United
"The Supreme Court got Citizens United wrong. The Senate has a chance to make it right."

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Ben Cardin (D-Md.) marked the fifth anniversary of the Supreme Court’s ruling in Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission by calling on his colleagues to take steps to rein in nearly unlimited campaign contributions from special interests and corporations.

 

“Citizens United was one of the worst decisions handed down by the Supreme Court in recent memory and will only corrode the integrity of our democracy the longer it is on the books,” said Senator Cardin. “Nearly unfettered injections of dark money into political campaigns drown out the voices of everyday Americans and pervert our system into ‘pay for play’ politics. The Supreme Court got Citizens United wrong. The Senate has a chance to make it right. I support legislation that would fix the damage caused by Citizens United because elections should be about people and not the money they may or may not use to impact the outcome. There was a time when getting money out of politics was a bipartisan goal; I call on my colleagues from both sides of the aisle to stand up and defend our electoral system.”

 

Senator Cardin continues to support legislation that would mitigate and reverse the damage done by Citizens United. In the 114th Congress, he is an original cosponsor of the DISCLOSE Act (Democracy Is Strengthened by Casting Light on Spending in Elections Act) that was introduced today. This bill would require any covered organization that spends $10,000 or more during an election cycle to file a report with the Federal Election Commission within 24 hours, detailing the amount and nature of each expenditure over $1,000 and the names of all of its donors who gave $10,000 or more. Transfer provisions in the bill prevent donors from using shell organizations to hide their activities. Senator Cardin also continues to support the constitutional amendment offered by Senator Tom Udall (D-NM).

 

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