Niki Tsongas: “It is my intention to withdraw, however reluctantly, the amendment. But I would like to thank my colleagues on the other…”

“It is my intention to withdraw, however reluctantly, the amendment. But I would like to thank my colleagues on the other side of the aisle for giving me this opportunity to discuss what I believe is a critically important issue for our democracy. My amendment is straightforward. Entities that received Federal funds may not use those funds, be they bailouts, earmarks, grants, or payments for contracts, toward the election or defeat of a Presidential candidate. I understand what my colleagues on the other side of the aisle hope to accomplish with the underlying bill today. They want to protect taxpayer dollars. Saving taxpayer dollars is a noble goal, particularly in these tough economic times. Unfortunately, this bill eliminates the voluntary fund that taxpayers elect to put toward campaign financing and does nothing about the much larger share of taxpayer dollars that can now go to campaign financing with no say from taxpayers. If we are truly serious about protecting taxpayer dollars, it is these dollars we should be concerned with. We should ensure that corporations and other entities receiving taxpayer money cannot turn around and use that same money to finance Presidential campaigns. The Supreme Court, in Citizens United, allowed corporations to have unlimited influence in elections.”