On the recordJanuary 22, 2015
yesterday marked the 5-year anniversary of the Supreme Court's decision in Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission. In this sweeping opinion, on a divided 5 to 4 vote, the Court held that the First Amendment permitted corporations to spend freely from their treasuries to influence elections. As a result of Citizens United and the series of decisions that followed in its wake, we have witnessed wealthy, well-connected campaign donors and special interests unleash a deluge of cash in an effort to sway Federal, State, and local elections across our Nation. Let me be clear: I firmly believe that every voice should be heard in our country, and every perspective should have a seat at the Nation's policymaking table. However, Citizens United has led to a system that allows a privileged group of deep-pocketed donors and corporations to drown out the voices of ordinary citizens in an effort to buy and control every seat at the table. The numbers speak for themselves. During the last Presidential election, outside groups poured more than one billion dollars into Federal races, over three times the $338 million that outside groups spent in 2008. More than 93 percent of all super PAC donations in 2012 came in contributions of at least $10,000 from 3,318 donors, who make up 0.0011 percent of the U.S. population. Of that group, an elite class of 159 people each contributed at least $1 million--funding nearly 60 percent of all super PAC donations that year.…
