[Congressional Record Volume 163, Number 55 (Wednesday, March 29, 2017)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E411]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




EXPRESSING THE SENSE OF CONGRESS THAT THE SUPREME COURT MISINTERPRETED 
THE FIRST AMENDMENT TO THE CONSTITUTION IN THE CASE OF BUCKLEY V. VALEO 
                               RESOLUTION

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                           HON. MARCY KAPTUR

                                of ohio

                    in the house of representatives

                       Wednesday, March 29, 2017

  Ms. KAPTUR. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to introduce the ``Expressing 
the Sense of Congress that the Supreme Court Misinterpreted the First 
Amendment to the Constitution in the Case of Buckley v. Valeo'' 
Resolution, an important bill to promote and preserve free speech.
  The landmark Supreme Court case Buckley v. Valeo was decided over 
forty years ago. Justice Byron White called the decision ``a mortal 
danger against which effective preventive and curative steps must be 
taken.''
  In the wake of a Presidential election where spending approached $5 
billion, we see the influence of wealthy donors. They are granted an 
inordinate amount of influence over the politicians they elect. True to 
form, it appears to have endowed donors with an unusually high number 
of Cabinet positions in the Trump Administration. Nearly 38 percent of 
President Trump's high-level government posts were given to campaign 
donors.
  Congress must end the current practice of allowing elections to be 
bought by the highest bidder. If money equals free speech, then lack of 
money equals lack of free speech.
  We must ensure that our campaigns are reflective of the people's 
voices, not those of Wall Street and corporations. Buckley v. Valeo 
took this inviolate First Amendment right away from the people. In 
order to secure free speech as a right of ``we the people,'' this 
misinterpretation must be readdressed.

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