On the recordSeptember 8, 2014
I rise today to support an independent constitutional amendment offered by Senator Udall of New Mexico which would restore to Congress and the States the authority to rein in the enormous sums of money that are flooding into our political process. As they built our democracy, the Founders feared the impact of concentration of power. John Adams, a Massachusetts native and the author of our State Constitution, expressed this ideal well. He said: Power must be opposed to power, force to force, strength to strength, interest to interest, as well as reason to reason, eloquence to eloquence, and passion to passion. Balance, said Adams, was critical. But in Washington power is not balanced. Instead, power is concentrated all on one side. Well-financed individuals and corporate interests are lined up to fight for their own privileges and to resist any change that would limit their special deals. I saw this up close and personal following the 2008 financial crisis when I fought hard for stronger financial regulations, and the biggest banks in this country spent more than $1 million a day to weaken reforms. But there are many more examples. Big corporate interests are smart. They fight every day on Capitol Hill, every day in the agencies, every day in the courts, always with the same goals in mind--to bend the law to benefit themselves. The U.S. Supreme Court is doing all it can to help them.…
