American Promise issued the following statement today in response to the SHIELD Act advancing out of committee: 

“We commend Chairman Bryan Steil (R-WI) and Reps. Stephanie Bice (R-OK), Laurel Lee (R-FL), and Anthony D’Esposito (R-NY) for introducing the SHIELD Act and for the Committee on House Administration for quickly advancing the legislation out of committee on a bipartisan voice vote. This legislation helps to address one of the biggest threats to America’s national security: the flow of unlimited and unrestrained money into American elections from foreign actors. No foreigner should have the ability to spend money to influence the outcome of our elections, and it’s critical to identify when foreign interference is taking place and to stop it. 

“Overwhelming majorities of Republicans and Democrats want Congress to address the influence of money in politics, and the SHIELD Act is a commonsense solution to bring more transparency and accountability into who is funding our elections. 

“Nevertheless, this is just one step in the right direction. Commonsense campaign finance legislation and ballot initiatives are routinely struck down by the courts because of previous Supreme Court decisions like Buckley v. Valeo and Citizens United v. FEC. We need to pass a constitutional Amendment like our For Our Freedom Amendment to give voters and their elected representatives the power to roll back out-of-control spending, foreign interference, and corruption that are a result of the current campaign finance system.” 

# # #