REP. RASKIN INTRODUCES LEGISLATION TO GET FOREIGN MONEY OUT OF U.S. ELECTIONS BY CLOSING THE CITIZENS UNITED LOOPHOLE
Press Release
Today, Congressman Jamie Raskin (MD-08), a member of the House Judiciary Committee, along with 19 of his colleagues in the United States House of Representatives, introduced the Get Foreign Money Out of U.S. Elections Act. The legislation closes a campaign finance loophole that allows for-profit U.S. corporations appreciably owned by foreign investors to pour unlimited cash into American elections.
"Six days after the Supreme Court invented corporate free speech rights in Citizens United, President Obama warned that the Court had just opened "the floodgates' for foreign interests to funnel cash freely into American elections through corporations," said Rep. Raskin. "He was right."
"The Get Foreign Money Out of U.S. Elections Act will stop this dangerous stream of foreign cash and influence from flowing in our campaigns through corporate spending," Raskin explained. "It's imperative to fortify our electoral institutions against constant efforts by plutocrats and autocrats to shape political outcomes in America. I thank the Center for American Progress, Public Citizen, Free Speech For People and Common Cause for their support of this critical project."
Although current law prohibits individual foreign nationals from spending in U.S. elections, no such law bars political spending from American-registered corporations--including major multinationals--that are foreign-owned, foreign-controlled, foreign-influenced or all three. The Get Foreign Money Out of U.S. Elections Act, supported by the Center for American Progress, Public Citizen, Free Speech For People and Common Cause, would prevent this foreign spending and ensure that the ultimate origin of money spent in American political campaigns is U.S. citizens and lawful permanent residents.
Rep. Raskin has introduced previous versions of the Get Foreign Money Out of U.S. Elections Act during the 116th and 115th Congresses. This bill joins similar legislative efforts at the state and local level to separate foreign money from democratic elections. In January 2020, Seattle passed a similar policy into law, and in June 2021, the New York State Senate passed similar legislation with bipartisan support. Additional bills are pending in several other states, including Massachusetts and Hawaii.
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