WASHINGTON, D.C. — Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont has introduced legislation in the U.S. Senate to abolish super PACs by restoring limits on contributions to political committees making independent expenditures in federal elections. The legislation serves as a Senate companion to legislation introduced in the House by Representatives Summer Lee and Ro Khanna.

The Sanders-Lee legislation would place a $5,000 annual cap on donations to super PACs, effectively ending the unlimited contribution system that has allowed billionaires, corporations, and wealthy special interests to pour massive sums into federal elections over the last 15 years.

The federal bill builds on model legislation developed by Free Speech For People, a national non-profit organization dedicated to fighting for our democracy and our Constitution across the country.

“Super PACs have become one of the primary mechanisms through which billionaires and powerful corporations distort our elections and dominate our politics,” said John Bonifaz, President of Free Speech For People. “This legislation would close a dangerous loophole that has allowed wealthy interests to subvert existing campaign contribution limits and corrupt our political system. We applaud Senator Sanders and Representative Lee for advancing this critical legislation to protect our democracy.”

Super PACs emerged after the 2010 D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals decision in SpeechNow v. FEC, which struck down limits on contributions to political committees making independent expenditures. The decision departed from longstanding Supreme Court precedent upholding contribution limits to prevent corruption and the appearance of corruption.

For decades, the Supreme Court has consistently distinguished between campaign contributions and expenditures, holding that contribution limits impose only a “marginal restriction” on free speech and may be enacted to protect against quid pro quo corruption and its appearance.

However, the SpeechNow court concluded that because the Supreme Court’s ruling in Citizens United v FEC held that independent expenditures alone could not give rise to corruption, unlimited contributions to super PACs also could not pose corruption concerns. Critics of the ruling have long argued that the decision ignored both longstanding constitutional precedent and the practical reality that wealthy donors can use super PACs to gain extraordinary influence over candidates and elected officials. The US Court of Appeals for the First Circuit is currently considering a case from Maine, which could lead to a ruling countering the SpeechNow decision and upholding a ban on super PACs in Maine elections.

The legislation would align federal law with longstanding Supreme Court precedent recognizing the government’s compelling interest in preventing corruption and safeguarding public confidence in democratic institutions.

Free Speech For People is urging Congress to pass the Sanders-Lee legislation and is mobilizing supporters nationwide to demand an end to super PACs. The organization has launched a website, www.abolishingsuperpacs.org, in support of this legislation. 

“Americans across the political spectrum are tired of a system where billionaires and corporations wield extraordinary power over our elections,” says Jocelyn Medearis-Viera, Grassroots Organizing Strategist for Free Speech For People. “This legislation is an important step toward building a democracy where every voice and every vote counts equally.”