Two progressive lawmakers on Wednesday unveiled new legislation aimed at stomping out the existence of so-called Super PACs, the dark money groups that allow corporations and ultra-wealthy individuals to to spend limitless sums of money on US elections.
The Abolish Super PACs Act, introduced by Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and Rep. Summer Lee (D-Pa.), would cap Super PAC donations from individuals at $5,000 in an effort to end billionaires’ outsize influence over the US political process.
According to a fact sheet summarizing the bill shared with Common Dreams, the legislation is necessary to close the “judicially created loophole” that resulted from the 2010 US Supreme Court ruling in Citizens United v. FEC, which allowed “staggering sums of money” to be spent in every election since.
“At a time when billionaire oligarchs and corporations are spending billions of dollars to buy elections and erode democracy,” the document argues, “we must put an end to the corrupting influence of money in politics and ensure that American elections are decided by the people, not just the top 1%.”
In justifying the bill, Sanders pointed to the unprecedented sums of money Tesla CEO Elon Musk spent to elect President Donald Trump in 2024, and to the projected record amounts being spent by billionaire-funded Super PACs in the 2026 midterm elections.
“You, as a citizen, get one vote,” Sanders explained. “They, as oligarchs, get to buy the candidates. That’s not democracy. If we’re going to create a government that works for all, and not just the 1%, we have to end Citizens United, get super PACs out of elections, and move to public financing of elections.”
Lee, who has in the past been the target of big spending from dark money groups, including those associated with the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), decried Super PACs for allowing “limitless money to flow into our elections and influence every aspect of our lives.”
“Our government is now undeniably held in the hands of the powerful and the wealthy few,” she said. “I’m proud to be the lead sponsor of the Abolish Super PACs Act in the House to put democracy back in the hands of the people.”
Joseph Geevarghese, executive director of Our Revolution, praised the Abolish Super PACs Act as essential to ending what he described as the “auction” of US democracy.
“Unlimited outside spending and billionaire-funded super PACs are one of the root causes of political corruption and public distrust in government,” Geevarghese said. “If Democrats want to truly become the party of working people and seriously tackle affordability, corporate greed, and economic inequality, we have to break the grip wealthy interests and corporate money have over our political system.”
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Why allow any money at all? Campaign Finance Reform is the issue from which ALL other issues flow.
Presidential campaigns should be 90 days long, fully funded by the government, with strong regulations as to speech and promises. Violate those laws, and your campaign is disqualified, even if it allows the other side to run unopposed.
No outside money should be allowed, not one penny. Any violations should receive long prison sentences.
By removing money, it makes the only item of value to a candidate is the single vote of each citizen, so that’s whose ass they’ll have to kiss. A CEO is just another vote.
And every citizen born in America should be automatically registered to vote at birth, with it automatically validating on their 18th birthday, and that right to vote can’t be removed for ANY reason. Even incarcerated prisoners can vote, they need representation as much or more than anyone.
