Rep. Dean Phillips (MN-03) today announced that he has co-sponsored the Democracy for All Amendment, HJRES2, to overturn Citizens United. This January marks the ninth anniversary of the Supreme Court’s 5-4 ruling in Citizens United v. FEC, which opened American elections to a flood of unlimited anonymous spending by corporations, labor unions and wealthy individuals.

“Ours is a system of checks and balances, and in times of great consequence, duty falls on Congress and the states to rectify unintended outcomes of the Supreme Court’s decisions,” said Phillips. “Now is one of those momentous times in American history. In order to preserve our democracy we must come together to end the corrupting influence of money in politics -- and we cannot do that until the Citizens United decision has been overturned.”

Phillips is the only Representative in the country to refuse campaign contributions from all PACs, federal lobbyists and even members of Congress or their campaign committees. The Center for Responsive Politics has estimated that each consecutive presidential election since Citizens United has broken spending records with $6.9 billion spent in 2016. The 2018 elections were the most expensive midterms in United States history, with a whopping $5.2 billion in spent.

“Our election proved that it is possible to take on the special interests - all of them - and win,” said Phillips. “It’s time to make that the rule, not the exception, so that our elected officials are beholden to the people they represent, not the special interests that bankroll their campaigns.”

According to public opinion polling, the vast majority of Americans support a constitutional amendment overturning the Supreme Court’s Citizens United decision, including 66% of Republicans and 85% of Democrats.

The bipartisan Democracy for All Amendment is authored by Rep. Ted Deutch (D-FL), Rep. Jim McGovern (D-MA), Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-MD) and Rep. John Katko (R-NY). It is part of the sweeping campaign finance, ethics and election reform package known as H.R. 1, which Phillips co-sponsored on his first day of Congress.

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