[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 162 (2016), Part 11]
[Senate]
[Page 14778]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




          STATEMENTS ON INTRODUCED BILLS AND JOINT RESOLUTIONS

      By Mr. CRUZ:
  S. 3488. A bill to protect freedom of speech in America's electoral 
process and ensure transparency in campaign finance; to the Committee 
on Rules and Administration.
  Mr. CRUZ. Mr. President, today I am introducing the SuperPAC 
Elimination Act. Another election cycle has come and gone without 
addressing a glaring issue that remains significant: free speech and 
transparency in campaign finance. Our current campaign finance system 
is absurd. Right now, a large percentage--sometimes a majority--of 
campaign expenditures are made by independent third-party SuperPACs 
that are prohibited from communicating with candidates. That makes no 
sense. Candidates should define their own messages, and citizens should 
be free to support whatever candidates they choose to support. 
Restrictions to political contributions are always presented under the 
guise of preventing corruption and holding politicians accountable, 
when in fact they accomplish exactly the opposite: protecting incumbent 
politicians. My legislation would put Americans on a level playing 
field with the media and politicians when it comes to influencing 
elections and exercising our First Amendment rights. Specifically, it 
would remove the caps on direct contributions to candidates from 
individuals and requires donations of more than $200 to be disclosed 
within 24 hours. Establishing unlimited contributions paired with 
immediate disclosure is the best way to promote transparency, eliminate 
the viability of SuperPACs going forward, and ensure that free speech 
is protected in the electoral process. I look forward to working with 
my colleagues in the Senate to shed light on the political arena and 
empower individual Americans by passing this important legislation.

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