The Supreme Court's controversial Citizens United decision has allowed corporations to spend unlimited amounts of money to influence elections, anonymously confuse the public on science, and delay action on critical public health, safety, and environmental protections.
Right now, our friends at People For the American Way are working to amend the U.S. Constitution to restore the ability of Congress and the states to regulate money spent on elections and stop drowning out the voices of everyday voters. Sign People For the American Way's petition today.
If there's one question UCS gets asked a lot it's this: "Why don't you folks all work together?" But here at the Union of Concerned Scientists, collaboration is a guiding principle. We partner with many of the nation’s leading scientists, unions, environmental and consumer protection organizations, and decision-makers in government to achieve our common goal: a healthy, safe, and sustainable future.
Today we're partnering with People For the American Way to encourage you to fight back. Don't let special interests inappropriately influence public policy and pollute the national dialogue on scientific issues like climate change and energy production—sign the petition today.
Tell Congress: Overturn Citizens United; Get Big Money OUT of Elections>>
Activist,
This most recent midterm election was by far the most expensive ever. Corporate special interests and billionaire ideologues spent hundreds of millions of dollars.
This spending will continue to escalate -- as it has since 2010’s Citizens United Supreme Court decision -- unless we, as a country, take the step necessary to overturn that decision and similar ones. To save our democracy and restore Government By the PEOPLE, we must amend the Constitution.
Please join the national movement to get big money OUT of our elections by adding your name to our petition right now calling for passage of the Democracy For All constitutional amendment>>
The Roberts Court’s 5-4 decision in Citizens United v. FEC went against decades of established legal understanding by saying corporations have the same Free Speech rights as people to spend their money in the electoral process. Earlier this year, the same Court majority’s decision in McCutcheon v. FEC removed common sense limits on individual spending, allowing the ultra-wealthy to buy even more political influence.
The trend of Court decisions allowing our democracy to be sold off to the highest bidder can only be stopped if a future Supreme Court majority is inclined, and gets the opportunity, to overturn these disastrous decisions OR if a popular movement of Americans across the country is able to get an amendment to the Constitution that explicitly allows lawmakers to protect the voice of the voter and enact limits on what corporations, other groups and interests, and individuals can spend in elections.
That popular movement is here.
Generations of Americans have used the constitutional amendment process to right injustices and expand democracy for Americans. And now is no different.
MILLIONS of Americans have signed petitions calling on Congress to pass an amendment. Along with our partners -- and with YOUR help -- we hope to get to FIVE MILLION signatures to deliver to Congress on the fifth anniversary of the Citizens United decision on January 21.
Add your name and join the movement now>>
Additionally: 1
- Polling shows that Americans of all political stripes -- huge majorities, in fact -- think too much money in politics is a serious problem. And a solid majority of Americans support a constitutional amendment.
- Sixteen states and more than 550 cities and counties have passed resolutions calling for a constitutional amendment to restore democracy and get money out of politics.
- Every time similar resolutions have been put directly to voters on ballot measures they have passed by large margins.
In this Congress, we were able to get our allies in Congress to coalesce around a specific piece of legislation--the Democracy For All amendment--and even got it to the floor of the United States Senate! Unfortunately, the bill was blocked, but we ended up with the support of 55 senators and we had well over 100 cosponsors for the House's companion bill.
The movement we've been honored to help build since 2010 is now a grassroots force. We won't stop growing and we will turn the tide against big money in politics--but we need you with us.
Please tell Congress: Amendment the Constitution to get big money OUT of elections>>
Thank you for all you do.
-- Ben Betz, Online Engagement Director, People For the American Way
1 http://united4thepeople.org
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