Restoring Election Integrity

Floor Speech

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Mrs. FOUSHEE. Mr. Speaker, today marks 16 years since the Supreme Court handed down its disastrous Citizens United decision, a ruling that opened the floodgates to unlimited corporate money in our elections and fundamentally distorted our democracy.

By discarding decades of precedent, the Supreme Court declared that unlimited spending in elections poses no threat to our democratic system and that corporations are entitled to the same political rights as the people whose lives are governed by the outcomes of those elections.

What emerged from this transfer of power was an election system that no longer depends primarily on voters but rather on outside entities whose sole purpose is to spend unlimited money, often without public accountability, to influence who holds power and how that power is used.

Since Citizens United, we have watched a parallel political system take shape, one dominated by super-PACs and dark money organizations that can raise and spend unlimited sums and operate with fewer rules, less transparency, and the ability to determine election outcomes long before voters cast a ballot. A small number of wealthy donors now wield influence far out of proportion to the voters they seek to affect.

This concentration of power has consequences for how this institution functions. When unlimited outside spending can be deployed against a single vote, it shapes the decisions lawmakers can take. It narrows the range of feasibility policy. It rewards delay and protects entrenched interests, often at the expense of the public's priorities.

Meanwhile, Americans face one of the most pressing affordability crises in decades. Healthcare, housing, childcare, energy, and grocery costs are all rising, yet policies that could provide immediate relief are repeatedly stalled.

At the same time, industries that benefit from higher costs or weaker enforcement continue to earn record profits and protect their advantage with unlimited political spending. Although Citizens United did not create these problems, it enabled them to persist and grow.

While the long-term goal must be to overturn Citizens United through a constitutional amendment, Congress has the power and the responsibility to act immediately to limit its damage.

The American people deserve a government that answers to them. Sixteen years of Citizens United is long enough. We must restore accountability, strengthen transparency, and defend the voice of every voter.

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