The Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act of 2002 banned
corporations from donating money from their general treasury war chests to
political candidate election campaigns. The 2010 landmark court case, Citizens
United v. FEC, overturned this Act and previous court decisions limited
political speech by corporations, because the court ruled that it violated
freedom of speech ["Citizens United v. Federal Election Comm'n (No. 08-205)",
Cornell University Law School, law.cornell.edu]. Critics argue
corporations are not citizens, and, therefore, do no not have freedom of speech
["5 Ways You Can Fight Citizens United", Yes! Magazine, Feb. 21 2011].
Due to Citizens United, corporations can now spend a limitless
amount of money on political campaigns. This means that corporations have
more power to buy politicians. This is extremely scary, because corporate
interests are put above citizens' health, consumer protections, environmental
protections, and worker safety even more than before.
Right now, big business is lobbying Congress to fight
against the EPA's new Cross-State Air Pollution Rule to regulate power plant
emissions that spread to other states. Big business' crony, Senator Rand
Paul, introduced Senate Joint Resolution 27 to undo this rule.
DirtyEnergyMoney.org shows Paul's election campaign was financed by polluters
such as Koch Industries and Exxon Mobil.
Oil companies have been continually trying to drill on
the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, one of our last pristine places on the
planet, just so they can make another buck. The EPA just granted a permit
for Shell Oil to drill off the ANWR's coasts ["EPA Grant Air Permit for Shell
Oil Drilling in the Arctic", The LA Times, September 19, 2011].
The National Automobile Dealers Association is
currently lobbying against Obama's plan to increase automobile fuel efficiency
standards that will protect our air and our health ["Dealers Oppose Gas Rules",
The Wall Street Journal, September 15, 2011].
Enough is enough. We need to contact our federal
representatives and tell them to co-sponsor an amendment by Reps. Donna Edwards
and John Conyers, House Joint Resolution 78, to overturn Citizens United so
corporations will once again not be able to spend an unlimited amount from
their deep treasuries to elect candidates who will do their bidding at the
expense of consumers.
It's time Congress listened to its constituents rather
than corporate lobbyists. For more ways to help, go to PublicCitizen.org.
