Specter Works to Hinder Free Speech

By Bart Jansen, CQ Staff

The Supreme Court’s decision to overturn part of the federal campaign finance law could threaten some state laws and spur two senators to revive their push for a constitutional amendment.

The high court on Thursday threw out the so-called millionaires’ amendment, a portion of the law (PL 107-155) that raised the per-donor limits on contributions for congressional candidates facing wealthy, self-funded opponents.

Justice Samuel A. Alito Jr. , writing for the 5-4 majority, said the provision was “at war” with rulings such as the 1976 decision in Buckley v. Valeo, which equated money with political speech.
Some in Congress were already disenchanted with Buckley v. Valeo. Sens. Charles E. Schumer , D-N.Y., and Arlen Specter , R-Pa., want to overturn it with a constitutional amendment (S J Res 21).

“It is clear the only way to preserve meaningful campaign finance reform is to repeal the Buckley v. Valeo ruling, one of the court’s worst decisions of the last 50 years,” Schumer said.
Their resolution, introduced in October, had not picked up steam, but Thursday’s court decision could help Schumer and Specter renew their efforts.