STATEMENT BY AMERICAN PROMISE CEO JEFF CLEMENTS
“We thank senators Bill Hagerty (R-TN), Marsha Blackburn (R-TN), Ted Budd (R-NC), Ted Cruz (R-TX), Cynthia Lummis (R-WY), and Roger Marshall (R-KS) today for introducing the Prevent Foreign Interference in American Elections Act in the Senate yesterday. This affirms the grave concern we share over the toxic influx of foreign spending in U.S. elections. We urge them and other opponents of foreign interference to advocate for lasting reform through the For Our Freedom Amendment.”
“This step by Senate Republicans to crack down on foreign influence displays leadership and reflects voters’ priority to rein in political spending. Foreign-aligned actors have no business interfering in elections. Yet, as American Promise and others have reported, they’ve played a hidden hand in American elections through dark money channels and organizations disguised as Americans. This is a threat to America and our ability to self-govern that must end.
“Unfortunately, the Supreme Court has tied Congress’s hands from passing lasting reforms due to years of judicial overreach that protects dark money channels like the Sixteen Thirty Fund from disclosing their foreign connections. State legislatures and voters have all attempted to curb these loopholes. Without amending the U.S. Constitution, these efforts will be challenged and likely overturned.
“In 2022 alone, PACs connected to foreign companies spent over $19.9 million on federal elections. Local and state-level spending, where they can have a bigger impact, dwarfs that amount. Since 2016, for example, foreign-connected entities have reported influencing ballot measures, including $200 million in California in 2020 and $67 million in Maine in 2021. These examples likely don’t amount anywhere near the full picture of foreign spending activities.
“American Promise calls on members of Congress and legislators across the country to sign the pledge to pass the For Our Freedom Amendment, which is the only lasting solution to curb foreign influence in elections.”
