Missouri Senator Josh Hawley found himself at odds with Republican leadership this week after introducing a bill about campaign contributions. It would essentially turn off the spigot of unlimited donations by publicly-traded companies, largely reversing a 2010 Supreme Court ruling.
The decision in that case, Citizens United vs Federal Election Commission, rolled back centuries-old spending restrictions. The court issued an opinion that said limiting "independent political spending" by corporations and other groups violated the First Amendment right to free speech. On 97.1 FM Thursday, Hawley pushed back on that idea.
"If individuals want to give campaign contributions, of course, the First Amendment protects that," Hawley said. "But publicly-traded business corporations? I just don't see it."
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell urged his colleagues not to support Hawley's bill. He pointed out that many of them were elected with the help of a super PAC called the Senate Leadership Fund. It accepts unlimited corporate contributions.
In the Citizens United case, the Federal Election Commission stopped the conservative non-profit group from airing a documentary critical of Hillary Clinton during the presidential primary season. The Court ruled in favor of Citizens United, saying there should be no limits on political spending by corporations and groups.
"If a non-profit wants to go out there and make a documentary about Hillary, I'm all for that," Hawley said. "But if a big corporation, a publicly-traded corporation, says 'I'm going to give millions of dollars' and try and influence the election, forget it. There's no First Amendment right to do that."
Hawley's bill is titled the Ending Corporate Influence on Elections Act.
"We need to re-empower the people of this country who are trying to stand up and make their voice heard. We constantly have our voices drowned out."
