McGovern Reintroduces Constitutional Amendment to End Big Money in Politics

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Today, Congressman Jim McGovern (MA-02) reintroduced the Free and Fair Elections Amendment, a sweeping constitutional amendment designed to curb the outsized influence of big money in American politics and restore democratic power to the people.

The amendment establishes clear, enforceable rules to protect the integrity of U.S. elections. It would:

• Prohibit corporations from spending money to influence federal elections.
• Limit individual contributions and expenditures in federal races to $1,000 in total.
• Require Congress to create a public campaign financing system for federal candidates-or withhold congressional pay until it does.
• Affirm the right of states to set their own contribution and spending limits for state and local elections.

If ratified, the amendment would overturn Citizens United v. FEC, Buckley v. Valeo, SpeechNow.org v. FEC, and related rulings that opened the floodgates to allow unlimited campaign donations from corporations, super PACs, and billionaires.

"Since Citizens United, more than $77 billion has poured into U.S. elections, rigging our democratic system to benefit the well-off and well-connected," said McGovern. "That's not democracy-that's an auction. It's government of, by, and for billionaires and big corporations, not the people. To fix our broken system, Congress must get big money out of politics and restore democratic power to the ballot box where it belongs."

For years, McGovern has been a leading advocate on campaign finance reform, introducing and supporting legislation that asserts corporations are not people, gets big money out of politics, and restores election integrity.

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