Democracy for All Amendment, introduced by entire Senate Democratic Caucus, would help get big money out of politics and put power back in the hands of the American people 

August 1, 2019 - WASHINGTON, D.C. — U.S. Senators Kamala D. Harris (D-CA) and Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) on Tuesday joined Senators Tom Udall (D-NM) and Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH) and the entire Senate Democratic Caucus in introducing the Democracy for All Amendment, a constitutional amendment to overturn Citizens United v. FEC and other disastrous court decisions, help get big money out of politics, and put power back in the hands of the American people.

(Left) U.S. Senator Kamala D. Harris (D-CA)

“Our political system has been flooded with unlimited amounts of money from the rich and powerful,” said Harris. “Our democracy should belong to everyday Americans, not big corporations. I am proud to stand with my colleagues to support the Democracy For All amendment as the first step in taking elections out of the hands of corporations and the top one percent and giving them back to the people.

“Supreme Court decisions like Citizens United opened the floodgates for super PAC spending in our elections. The Democracy for All constitutional amendment will block corporations and rich donors from buying elections to restore power and influence to the voters,” said Feinstein. 

Citizens United and other disastrous Supreme Court decisions have unleashed a flood of unlimited corporate spending in U.S. elections and opened the door for wealthy special interests to have an outsized voice in our government. These decisions have wrongfully equated money with free speech, and wrongfully determined that big, wealthy corporations have the same first amendment rights as people. The Democracy for All Amendment gives the power back to Congress and the states to set reasonable campaign finance rules and limit corporate spending in elections. The amendment would enshrine in the Constitution the right of the American people to regulate the raising and spending of funds in public elections, and curb the concentration of political influence held by the wealthiest Americans.   

In addition to Harris, Feinstein, Udall, and Shaheen, the Democracy for All Amendment is co-sponsored by the entire Senate Democratic Caucus: U.S. Senators Charles Schumer (D-NY), Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), Jeff Merkley (D-OR), Richard J. Durbin (D-IL), Ben Cardin (D-MD), Ron Wyden (D-OR), Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), Chris Coons (D-DE), Ed Markey (D-MA), Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Martin Heinrich (D-NM), Tim Kaine (D-VA), Mazie Hirono (D-HI), Bernie Sanders (I-VT), Brian Schatz (D-HI), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), Sherrod Brown (D-OH), Michael Bennet (D-CO), Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), Tina Smith (D-MN), Tom Carper (D-DE), Angus King (I-ME), Bob Casey (D-PA), Catherine Cortez Masto (D-NV), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), Jon Tester (D-MT), Cory Booker (D-NJ), Debbie Stabenow (D-MI), Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), Chris Murphy (D-CT), Maggie Hassan (D-NH), Gary Peters (D-MI), Jacky Rosen (D-NV), Bob Menendez (D-NJ), Patty Murray (D-WA), Jack Reed (D-RI), Maria Cantwell (D-WA), Mark Warner (D-VA), Doug Jones (D-AL), Patrick Leahy (D-VT), Joe Manchin (D-WV), and Kyrsten Sinema (D-AZ).

The Democracy for All Amendment is backed by a broad range of campaign finance and government reform advocates, including End Citizens United, People For the American Way, Public Citizen, American Promise, Common Cause, Free Speech For People, and Union of Concerned Scientists. Statements of support are available HERE.

The full text of the amendment is available HERE. A background summary is available HERE, and a section-by-section with FAQs is available HERE. 
Source: Senator Kamala D. Harris