Hoyer Statement on Anniversary of Supreme Court's Ruling in Citizens United Case
WASHINGTON, DC - Democratic Whip Steny H. Hoyer released the following statement today on the one year anniversary of the Supreme Court's ruling in the Citizens United v. FEC case:
"A year ago, with its ruling in the Citizens United case, the Supreme Court struck a severe blow against the integrity of American elections. Overturning longstanding precedent, the Court's ruling allowed special interests to spend unlimited amounts of money to directly influence elections, while keeping their identities hidden from the voters. The Citizens United ruling took power out of the hands of ordinary voters and placed it in the hands of wealthy and well-connected interests.
"Along with President Obama, my Democratic colleagues, and an overwhelming majority of the American people, I believe that a strong antidote to special-interest-dominated elections is transparency. Americans deserve to know who is seeking to influence their votes, and why, so that they can hold their representatives accountable. That's why, last year, the House passed the DISCLOSE Act, which would create the strongest-ever standards for transparency in political advertising, revealing the corporations and other groups that fund political ads. The DISCLOSE Act was blocked by a minority of Senate Republicans, but Democrats remain committed to every American's right to know who is funding political campaigns."
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