Proposing an amendment to the Constitution of the United States relating to contributions and expenditures intended to affect elections.

Resolved by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled (two-thirds of each House concurring therein),

That the following article is proposed as an amendment to the Constitution of the United States, to be valid only if ratified by the legislatures of three-fourths of the several States within 7 years after the date of final passage of this joint resolution:

ARTICLE

SECTION 1. Congress shall have power to set reasonable limits on the amount of contributions that may be made by, in support of, or in opposition to, a candidate for nomination for election to, or for election to, Federal office.

SECTION 2. A State shall have the power to set reasonable limits on the amount of contributions that may be accepted by, and the amount of expenditures that may be made by, in support of, or in opposition to, a candidate for nomination for election to, or for election to, State or local office.

SECTION 3. Congress shall have power to implement and enforce this article by appropriate legislation.

ROLLCALL VOTE NO. 31 LEG.

YEAS—38
Akaka, Daniel (D, HI) Baucus, Max (D, MT) Biden, Joseph (D, DE) Bingaman, Jeff (D, NM) Boxer, Barbara (D, CA) Breaux, John (D, LA) Bryan, Richard (D, NV) Byrd, Robert (D, WV) Cleland, Max (D, GA) Cochran, Thad (R, MS) Conrad, Kent (D, ND) Daschle, Thomas (D, SD) Dodd, Christopher (D, CT)	Dorgan, Byron (D, ND) Feinstein, Dianne (D, CA) Ford, Wendell (D, KY) Glenn, John (D, OH) Graham, Robert (D, FL) Harkin, Thomas (D, IA) Hollings, Ernest (D, SC) Inouye, Daniel (D, HI) Jeffords, James (R, VT) Johnson, Tim (D, SD) Kerry, John (D, MA) Landrieu, Mary (D, LA) Lautenberg, Frank (D, NJ)	Levin, Carl (D, MI) Lieberman, Joseph (D, CT) Mikulski, Barbara (D, MD) Murray, Patty (D, WA) Reed, Jack (D, RI) Reid, Harry (D, NV) Robb, Charles (D, VA) Roth, William (D, DE) Sarbanes, Paul (D, MD) Specter, Arlen (R, PA) Wellstone, Paul (D, MN) Wyden, Ron (D, OR)
NAYS—61
Abraham, Spencer (R, MI) Allard, Wayne (R, CO) Ashcroft, John (R, MO) Bennett, Robert (R, UT) Bond, Christopher (R, MO) Brownback, Sam (R, KS) Bumpers, Dale (D, AR) Campbell, Ben (R, CO) Chafee, John (R, RI) Coats, Daniel (R, IN) Collins, Susan (R, ME) Coverdell, Paul (R, GA) Craig, Larry (D, ID) D'Amato, Alphonse (R, NY) DeWine, Michael (R, OH) Domenici, Pete (R, NM) Durbin, Richard (D, IL) Enzi, Michael (R, WY) Faircloth, D. M. (R, NC) Feingold, Russell (D, WI) Frist, Bill (R, TN)	Gorton, Slade (D, WA) Gramm, Phil (R, TX) Grams, Rod (R, MN) Grassley, Charles (R, IA) Gregg, Judd (R, NH) Hagel, Chuck (R, NE) Hatch, Orrin (R, UT) Helms, Jesse (R, NC) Hutchinson, Tim (R, AR) Hutchison, Kay (R, TX) Inhofe, James (R, OK) Kempthorne, Dirk (R, ID) Kennedy, Edward (D, MA) Kerry, Bob (D, NE) Kohl, Herbert (D, WI) Kyl, Jon (R, AZ) Leahy, Patrick (D, VT) Lott, Trent (R, MS) Lugar, Richard (R, IN) Mack, Connie (D, FL)	McCain, John (R, AZ) McConnell, Mitch (R, KY) Moseley-Braun, Carol (D, IL) Moynihan, Daniel (D, NY) Murkowski, Frank (R, AK) Nickles, Donald (R, OK) Roberts, Pat (R, KS) Rockefeller, John (D, WV) Santorum, Rick (R, PA) Sessions, Jeff (R, AL) Shelby, Richard (R, AL) Smith, Bob (R, NH) Smith, Gordon (R, OK) Snowe, Olympia (R, ME) Stevens, Ted (R, AK) Thomas, Craig (R, WY) Thompson, Fred (R, TN) Thurmond, Strom (R, SC) Torricelli, Robert (D, NJ) Warner, John (R, VA)
NOT VOTING—1
Burns, Conrad (R, MT)

 

Related features:

Read a 2006 op-ed by Mr. Hollings in support of the Amendment.

We have long advanced an amanedment such as this as part of a three-Amendment platform to correct the anti-democratic judicial activism of the Supreme Court and, in one case, a failing of the Constitution itself. 

Our 2006 amicus curiae brief to the Supreme Court in Randall v. Sorrell details some of the arguments for overturning the Court's "money = speech" doctrine.

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