In a press conference today, Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) and Rep. Chris Van Hollen (D-M.D.) revealed a legislative response to the Supreme Court's decision in Citizens United. "We need to move very quickly to blunt the corrosive impact of this decision on democracy," noted Rep. Van Hollen. While Public Campaign and Common Cause agree with this assessment, we believe that any response must go further to include public financing of congressional elections.

Citizens United ruling fuels voter ire: new bipartisan polling reveals voters' anger with special interest influence in Washington. Politico reports that a whopping 79% of respondents think that Congress is controlled by those who finance their campaigns.

In the Huffington Post yesterday, President Obama's National Deputy Campaign Manager in 2008, Steve Hildebrand, says millions more to flood campaign coffers following the Citizens United ruling - and the only way to curb the influence of money in politics is the Fair Elections Now Act.

After a delay, the House Administration committee hearing: “Defining the Future of Campaign Finance in an Age of Supreme Court Activism” has begun.

Panel: 

Mr. Robert Lenhard
Counsel, Covington & Burling LLP and Former Chair, Federal Elections Commission
Ms. Judith A. Browne-Dianis
Co-Director, Advancement Project
Ms. Mary G. Wilson
President, League of Women Voters
Ms. Ciara Torres-Spelliscy
Counsel, Brennan Center for Justice
Ms. Allison Hayward
Assistant Professor of Law, George Mason University School of Law
Mr. Steve Simpson
Senior Attorney, Institute for Justice
 

Members of the House subcommittee are now questioning the first panel.

First panel: Professor Laurence Tribe, Harvard Law School, Monica Youn, Brennan Center for Justice, Sean Parnell, Center for Competitive Politics, and Don Simon.

The House Subcommittee on the Constitution, Civil Rights, and Civil Liberties hearing to discuss solutions to the Citizens United v. FEC Supreme Court ruling is underway...stay tuned for live updates!

Former Sen. Bob Kerrey (D-Neb.) says the Fair Elections Now Act will provide "more speech" in addition to preventing corruption.

Congressman John Larson (D-Conn.), lead sponsor of the Fair Elections Now Act, has released a statement in support of Fair Elections campaign reform in the wake of the rehearing of Citizens United V. FEC by the U.S. Supreme Court.