Pelosi Statement on Senate Republicans Blocking Constitutional Amendment to Overturn Citizens United

Contact: Drew Hammill, 202-226-7616

Washington, D.C. – Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi released the following statement after Senate Republicans blocked passage of a constitutional amendment to overturn the misguided Citizens United decision by a vote of 54-42:

"Our Founders pledged their lives, their liberty and their sacred honor to build a democracy: a government of the many, not a government of the money. Yet today, after deeply misguided Supreme Court decisions from Citizens United to McCutcheon, that vision is drowning under the weight of millions of dollars of secret, special interest spending.

"Powerful interests and corporations are trying to use a tidal wave of money to wash away the voices of millions of hard-working Americans – and Republicans continue to put the special interests ahead of the middle class families. With this vote, Republicans have once more shown their contempt for the voices of the American people.

"We must dare to reclaim our politics and restore confidence in our democracy. We must pass the Democracy for All Amendment and reassert Congress's ability to set reasonable limits on campaign spending. While Republicans continue to put the special interests before everyone else, Democrats will keep fighting for that most sacred American doctrine: it is the voices of the people, not the bank accounts of the privileged few that must determine our elections and our policies."

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