Home > Newsroom > Press Release > CCP scholars to testify on Citizens United proposals
NEWSROOM
Press Release
CCP scholars to testify on Citizens United proposals
February 1, 2010
Congress will consider legislative proposals related to the Supreme Court's Jan. 21 decision in Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission at three hearings this week. The Center for Competitive Politics (CCP) has prepared a policy primer on these issues, and two CCP officials will testify at tomorrow's Senate panel to discuss proposed campaign finance regulations.
CCP vice president and co-founder Steve Hoersting and CCP board member Allison Hayward, a professor of law at George Mason University, will testify at Tuesday's Senate Rules & Administration Committee hearing. Congressional leaders and President Obama have suggested further restricting supposedly foreign spending and restricting business corporation political spending.
"President Obama and congressional leaders should wait for any potential issues from Citizens United to emerge instead of rashly spreading baseless, inflammatory assertions about corporate control of our republic," said Hayward, who authored a Citizens United brief on behalf of campaign finance scholars examining the legislative history of the corporate and union expenditure provisions. "Judicial review of any burdens on independent spending will demand evidence of a compelling governmental interest. It is doubtful that interest could be established to a court's satisfaction if Congress haphazardly cobbles together legislation with no real world rationale beyond hypotheticals."
Over half the states permitted independent spending by corporations and unions before Citizens United with no apparent evidence of corruption, malfeasance or foreign-connected spending.
"Existing law prohibits foreign participation in any U.S. election, from dogcatcher to President," said Hoersting, who authored CCP's brief in Citizens United. "Any characterization that Citizens United allows foreign corporations to spend without limit in our elections is incorrect, at best. Any tightening of the existing ban to ‘fix' a nonexistent problem would only prevent U.S. nationals from participating in U.S. elections with funds earned within the United States, a shameful violation of the rights of U.S nationals."
CCP's Citizens United policy primer:
http://www.campaignfreedom.org/docLib/20100201_citizenslegmemo.pdf
CCP's policy primer details constitutional and policy problems with further restricting business corporation political spending after Citizens United, as all major congressional proposals to date suggest.
Instead, we suggest restoring tax credits for small contributions, lifting limits on coordinating candidate spending with parties and raising contribution limits to account for inflation.
Related Links
 | |
|
|
